Shadowrun: Return to Sender
by Illithid
Summary: A diverse group of shadowrunners set out on a simple smash-and-grab, but things go wrong almost immediately. Set in late 2057. Started as the adventure log for my local gaming group .
1. Prologue

I hope you enjoy my first foray into Shadowrun fiction. This started, like my B5 story, as basically the adventure log for our local gaming group. I found that it was nearly impossible to write Shadowrun as it deserves without a Mature rating. As we all know, the Sixth World is a dangerous, decadent, amoral place, full of wickedness.

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Return to Sender is set in the last few days of 2057. The game sessions on which the story is based were played with a combination of 1st-3rd edition rules.

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If you like the story, please let me know. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

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Enough of my babbling, on to the show!

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Return to Sender: Prologue

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The mage hurried along the hallway, his custom shoes loud against the darkly stained hardwood. Pausing outside the door, both to catch his breath and gather his thoughts, the mage knocked firmly, twice. To his surprise, the unlatched door opened slightly from the force of his knocking.

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From within, a voice said, **"Enter, my friend."**

**.  
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Swinging the heavy door open on silent hinges, the mage entered the room. Soft classical music played over hidden speakers. A single candle stood against the darkness, bathing the large antique desk in a lambent, golden glow. The candle's light faintly illuminated the backside of a tall figure standing in front of the wide picture window.

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The figure spoke without turning, **"Anything new?"**

**.  
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Clearing his throat slightly the mage said, **"Just what's already been all over the NewsNets: Dunkelzahn was officially declared dead or missing on the astral plane."**

**.  
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**"So the Great Wyrm Mountainshadow has left us at last,"** the figure said. With a short, derisive laugh the tall figure added, **"This presents an unexpected opportunity. We must make the most of it."**

**.  
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**"Are you certain that's wise, sir?"** the mage asked.

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Turning slightly into the feeble light the tall figure spoke again, **"Certain? Nothing is certain, my friend."** He turned back to his contemplation of the nightscape and added, **"As for wise, perhaps not. But as the old saying goes: _'fortune favors the bold'_."**

**.  
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**"I was always more fond of '_God favors the side with the most artillery'_,"** the mage replied dryly.

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The figure laughed again. **"Indeed He does, my friend, indeed He does."** Offhandedly waving, the figure said, **"Get yourself a drink, and pour me one as well."**

**.  
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The mage moved over to a sideboard wet bar and filled two tumblers with ice and liquor. Stepping up to the window, he held out one of the glasses to the figure. Still gazing out the window, the figure took the tumbler in one manicured hand, drinking deeply. **"What's our next move, sir?"** the mage asked.

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Sighing slightly the figure responded, **"Despite this opportunity, we first must be cautious. It's the bold thief that pilfers the dragon's lair, but it is often the _prudent_ thief that makes it out to enjoy his treasure."**

**.  
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**"Will any of the others try to interfere with our plans?"** the mage asked.

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**"Not initially, no,"** the figure replied.

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Sounding confused the mage said, **"Surely _one_ of them will seek to collect Dunkelzahn's possessions. Lofwyr, or perhaps Hestaby..."**

**.  
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**"I said no!"** the figure barked. Sighing he continued, **"None of the others will seek to interfere. I am certain that the Great Wyrm made specific arrangements for each and every coin of his hoard. No other dragon, no matter how avaricious, will interfere with that. Before anything else, they are creatures of ceremony and tradition."**

**.  
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The mage started again, **"But still, one of them _could_..."**

**.  
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The figure turned to fully face the mage. **"Do you seek to instruct _ME_, of all people, on how a Great Dragon thinks?"** The mage shook his head as the tall figure continued, **"I am..._intimate_...with the ways they think, and the ways they do things. For the moment they will be shocked, and dismayed. Great Dragons are not slain by anyone except _other_ Great Dragons. I am certain Dunkelzahn kept none of them in his confidence, for any dragon, Great or otherwise, is also a creature of immense and overbearing ego."**

**.  
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The mage was surprised, as always, to hear the venom drip off the words whenever his friend and mentor spoke at length about the Great Dragons. The hatred in the words was palpable. Shaking his head in apology the mage said, **"You know I would never try to** **tell you how to do things. It's just the thought of working at odds with one of them..."**

**.  
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Sighing the figure said, **"Yes...I have those same worries." ** Abruptly the figure reached out and clapped the mage on the shoulder. **"Fear not, my friend. I have been planning against this day for a long time."** The mage cocked his head as if listening to something. Catching the gesture the figure asked, **"Something more?"**

**.  
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Waiting a few moments more, the mage stood silent, listening to his internal headset.** "There is wide-spread rioting in several cities: D.C., Cincinnati, Detroit, and Seattle."** The mage paused and added, **"Governor Schulz in Seattle has already called out the military to put down the rioting." ** Listening more, his face breaking out into a grin he said, **"It's just been announced that Miss Nadja Daviar, Dunkelzahn's most recent companion, will read the Great Dragon's last will and testament on the fifteenth of this month."**

**.  
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Smiling two rows of perfect white teeth, the figure clinked his glass to the mage's in a victory toast and said, **"See, my friend, once the final dispositions are made, we can proceed to get what we need."**

**.  
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**...  
**

**.  
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**"I don't know how many more ways I can tell you this, sir,"** the lawyer yelled. **"Miss Daviar _will not_ sell anything from the estate, and no she _is not_ seeing anyone except beneficiaries of the will! Now good day, sir!"**

**.  
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Holding out his hands the mage said placating, **"I'm certain she would agree if she knew about my offer. Perhaps if you could just let me make it to her in person..."**

**.  
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**"I said good day, sir!"** When the mage made no effort to stir from his chair, the florid-faced lawyer stabbed a button on his desk. **"Mrs. Clovis,"** he barked out loud to whatever audio pickup the desk had,** "I have a gentleman in here whose appointment is over. Please call security to have him removed!"**

**.  
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In a rush, the mage came to his feet. Buttoning the jacket of his corporate-blue suit, he briefly considered snapping of a mana bolt spell at the red-faced, balding lard ball behind the macroplast desk. The lawyer seemed to sense the mage's intention, moving his hand beneath the desk, most likely hovering over a weapon or the button to some sort of lethal defense device. Narrowing his blue eyes at the lawyer, the mage thought, _"You're not worth it right now, fat boy. I'll settle with you later."_

_.  
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Abruptly the door to the office opened. Standing in the doorway, a uniformed troll eclipsed the mage's view of the secretary. Crossing his arms the troll said, **"Lemme show youse the way out, sir."**

**.  
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The mage moved out the door without looking back at the lawyer. As he passed the secretary's desk he snatched up his ornate walking stick from the umbrella stand. The troll guard immediately laid a large, meaty hand on the small of his back. The mage snapped around with a snarl and hissed, **"If you lay your paw on me again, you filthy fucking trog, I'll blow up this entire building just to see you burn."**

**.  
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Eyes flattening with anger, the troll backed up one step and put said paw onto the butt of his pistol. **"Like da' boss said, little man, time for youse to go,"** he growled.

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**"Yeah, I'm going,"** the mage replied.** "I can find the way myself."** He quickly walked to the exit, knowing the guard followed. Custom heels loud on the stairs, the mage slammed out the door and onto the street. He paused momentarily, squinting in the unusually bright, late autumn sunlight. Slipping on a pair of dark wraparound shades he scanned the D.C. streets for his ride.

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The rented stretch limo slipped out of traffic and pulled up to the curb, a single door opening silently. Muttering to himself in anger, the mage descended to the street and entered air-conditioned coolness of the limo. Flopping down hard into his seat, the mage _hmphed_ in frustration.

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A manicured hand held out a sweating glass full of ice and liquor. The mage took it without speaking, drinking deeply. **"I trust by your demeanor, my friend, that our offer has been refused?"** asked the figure sitting opposite the mage.

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**"Yes,"** the mage said. **"Refused with the standard '_No Miss Daviar is seeing no one'_ argument."**

**.  
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The back of the limo was silent. **"Do you think they can be convinced?"** the figure asked.

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Blowing a breath past his lips, the mage said, **"No, not unless we kill the lawyer and enough of his minions to raise suspicion."**

**.  
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Humor laced his friend and mentor's voice as he said, **"Well, we certainly don't want that."**

**.  
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**"So what do we do, sir?"** the mage asked.

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Draining his own glass, the tall figure slapped his knees and said, **"We shall just have to use...alternative methods."**

**.  
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A sudden feral smile crept across the mage's face. **"Do you want me to handle that?"**

**.  
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Filling his glass from a built-in dispenser, the figure said, **"No, my friend...leave that to me." **


	2. Chapter 1: An Offer Made

Chapter 1: An Offer Made

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Susie sat inside the plexiglas tram-stop outside the Saeder-Krupp employee's parking garage. Overhead the sporadic drizzle had turned into a steady Seattle winter rain. She was waiting for her Charles to pick her up. His plane had landed earlier, returning him from a two-week trip to Japan...and he was running more than an hour late.

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Lulled by the monotonous patter of the cold winter rain on the tram-stop roof, the mage caught herself nodding. She and the Magical Interdiction Team had stopped a shadowrun last night, complete with two 'runner casualties (thankfully no one she knew). As per company policy Susie had arrived this morning, on her day off no less, to submit a proper report about the deaths, giving her less than four hours of sleep. She had planned to sleep in and make it a lazy day of pampered preparation awaiting the return of her devoted Charles. The ruination of her plans and her fatigue set her teeth on edge, much to the consternation of her coworkers. Susie's foul mood had followed her outside to wait for her Charles to pick her up, and intensified as he grew later and later. _"I am going to whip him raw tonight," _she thought.

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Abruptly Susie saw a familiar Charger R/T pull into the parking lot entrance, its dark, sleek form maneuvering out of the mid-afternoon traffic: her Charles had finally arrived. Flipping her hood up over her dark curly hair, Susie decided she could wait no longer and immediately started out into the rain and across the parking lot. Head down against the chilly breeze, her heels clacked as she skipped to avoid the puddles. Susie glanced up, seeing the Dodge pass the guard shack, the red and white striped arm rising to admit it. She saw her Charles drive around the traffic control islands toward her.

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The black Charger suddenly halted in the drive, the wipers stopping in the middle of the windshield. Susie was certain her Charles could see her; she was the only one in the whole parking lot, yet the car sat still in the drive. Susie could certainly see _**him**_ sitting behind the wheel, staring down at the dashboard with a look of confusion on his face. Her ire flaring up to a dangerous level, she altered her direction to meet the car.

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Her Charles was usually extra submissive and genuinely caring when he returned from any trip away from her. Speaking to him on the phone earlier, Susie could hear the anticipation and longing for her in his voice. His inconsiderateness now was unlooked for, and Susie actually felt hurt that he had chosen now, after her wretched day of all times, to slight her. Subconsciously, she had been craving his return, and his typical affectionate docility upon his return. Susie had been looking forward to it so much that she had already decided to let him sleep in the bed tonight. Earlier, in her excitement, she even toyed with the idea of once again bestowing upon her Charles the gift he treasured most from her...

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But not now, not after he left her waiting for an hour and making her walk through the December rain to his car. As a proper Mistress she could never let this episode go unpunished. _"Godamn him...miserable frigging razorboy...I'll chain him in the kitchen..."_ Susie thought, the ache of her unfulfilled need stoking the flames of her anger even more. Her mouth twisting up into a cruel smile she thought, _"But not before letting him know EXACTLY what his misbehavior cost him."_

_._

Charles looked up to make eye contact with her. Heterochromic eyes staring daggers, Susie dropped her smile and peremptorily waved to her Charles: get over here **now**. Suddenly his expression changed to one of terror, and with a flash of intuition Susie knew it was not about her. For an instant, Susie thought she saw a flicker of movement behind her Charles...and then the Charger exploded. Susie felt the heat of the blast as the shockwave knocked her down, the pain and momentary disorientation not preventing the scream from escaping her throat.

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Susie bolted upright in her bed as she snapped awake, the scream of her past not quite making it to the real world. Gasping, she clutched at her chest, feeling the trip-hammer pounding of her heart. A cold sweat slicked her body, causing her t-shirt to stick to her torso. For the third night running, the dream of her Charles' murder again haunted her sleep. Having the dream once so near to the anniversary of his murder was typical, twice exceptional, and three times unprecedented.

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As the remaining shreds of her dream tainted the waking world, Susie's other hand was already reaching under the pillow for her Colt Manhunter pistol. Grasping the pistol's comforting weight she tilted her head in the darkness, listening as something teased at her mind. Susie could hear nothing except the steady patter of winter rain overlaid with a very distant rumble of thunder. Her state-of-the-art alarm system stayed silent yet she couldn't shake the idea that something was wrong in her house.

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Susie clicked on the bedside lamp, dimly lighting the room. Squinting against the dim glare she checked her phone for missed calls, perhaps from her contacts with the local street overlords she had befriended, the Halloween gang. Susie wasn't foolish enough to believe she was indispensable to them, but they had always warned her of trouble coming if they knew, or given her plenty of time to outbid anyone seriously asking for her. In return she helped them with magical things, augmenting their street shamans. She also had a special employment deal with them creating exotic simsense chips, and the not-so-legal BTL-chip trade.

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Susie checked the action of the Manhunter, disengaging the safety and verifying the chamber was loaded. Flipping back the covers, she swung her legs off the bed and pushed her feet into black satin china slippers. Susie briefly considered getting Briosaid, her magesword, but it was on the upper level in The Lair behind several locked doors. Deciding to not take the extra time she made her way down the stairs. Susie saw lights on the lower floor. Readying a mana bolt spell she eased down the steps, her slippers making no sound. No one was in the living area it was still dark, the light was from the kitchen. Hearing the distinctive noise of a glass clinking, Susie whipped around the stairwell to the kitchen area, gun at the ready.

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A tall man stood in her kitchen pouring some of her bourbon in a glass. He seemed to sense her and raised his hands: one empty the other holding the glass full of liquor and ice. In a voice smooth with the tones of confidence he said, **"Don't shoot."**

**.**

"**Turn around, chummer...slowly,"** Susie said.

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The man did as she commanded; slowly turning to reveal the pointed ears and thin chiseled face of an elf. His long dark grey raincoat covered the typical blue corporate suit and tie. He had an unusual cast to his features and skin for an elf: Mediterranean or possibly Egyptian. He was attractive, in a foreign, elven way. Crystal droplets of rain glittered in his closely cropped black hair, the hair itself unusual for an elf, as his hairline seemed to be receding. He gave Susie a broad smile, revealing teeth so perfect and white she wondered how much they had cost. Against the swarthiness of his skin, they almost seemed to glow.

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A bit sarcastically she asked, **"Enjoying my bourbon?"**

**.**

His smile turned into a wry grin as he said, **"I was considering some of your absinthe but didn't think I had enough time for the sugar to dissolve before you came down."** His eyes looked her up and down once, taking in the frilly pink boy shorts and t-shirt. The shirt had an image of a voluptuous, leather-clad woman swinging a long whip over her head. Emblazoned over the woman was the phrase, "_Safe words are for amateurs...__**I **__will tell you when you have had enough_". The damp t-shirt clung tightly to her body. His grin grew a bit wider as he said, **"Nice outfit."**

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The gun didn't waver as Susie's left fist began to glow. **"Who are you, and why are you here?"** she asked, unwilling to banter with a stranger in her kitchen at night.

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Flicking a glance at the female mage's glowing fist the elf's face assumed a look of boardroom coolness. **"Mistress Susie, my name is Johnson, and I am here to offer you a job,"** he said.

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"**King is my fixer," **she replied. **"Why didn't you just go through him?"**

**.**

"**I am given to understand that fixers always take a percentage of your compensation, so I thought you might prefer we handle this just between us,"** he said. The elf shrugged and added, "**Some of what I have to offer has no...monetary value,"** he said.

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"**Bad luck for you, Mr. Johnson,"** Susie said.** "At the moment, I don't need anything except money."**

**.**

A look of mild chagrin came over his face as he said, **"Ah, I see."** He shrugged and said, **"I have plenty of cash as well."** He narrowed his eyes and continued, ** "So tell me...**_**Tabitha:**_** does the money stop the dreams of your Charles?"**

**.**

With a flash of annoyance, Susie realized that even though she had experienced that particular dream about Charles before, this Johnson had a pet mage or shaman teasing it out of her subconscious for the repeat performances. It would be difficult, but not impossible especially as Susie typically did not conjure elementals or spirits to watch over her in sleep. Susie felt another surge of anger at the Johnson's knowledge of her birth name, thinking, _"How many more clowns that know who I am do I have to kill?"_

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"**No one calls me **_**Tabitha**_** anymore, Mr. Johnson,"** Susie said with just the slightest hint of danger. **"Everyone calls me **_**Susie**_** now."** She felt a touch of heaviness low in her belly, contrasted with a light flutter. Susie barely registered that the damp fabric of her t-shirt was chafing her now tightened breasts and nipples. She graced the Johnson with a half smile and purred, **"Would you like to know what I did to the last man to call me **_**Tabitha**_**?"**

**.**

The Johnson's veneer of boardroom shrewdness and calm wavered just a bit. He saw Susie's breathing had become quicker but shallower, almost panting, her pale skin was flushed, and her nipples now dimpled the t-shirt . The look of..._hunger_...in Susie's odd two-color eyes was disconcerting. Trying to regain control of the conversation he said, **"Uh, no...not really. Knowing your reputation, I am sure it was..."** He paused searching for the right word and then said, **"**_**Inventive**_**."** The negotiating tone returned to his voice as he said, **"But I am here to offer you a deal for your services: thirty-K, half up front, and some...special information pertaining to the murder of Charles Remming."** The elf shrugged slightly and added, **"Or as his friends knew him, Charles the Grinning Boy."**

**.**

Susie thought about that for a moment, disturbed that after all this time something new about the murder of her Charles would surface. Wondering briefly if she had wreaked her vengeance upon the wrong person for his death, she let her spell drop and decided to find out. The click of the reengaging safety was loud as she motioned with the pistol to the living-room area and said, **"All right. After you Mr. Johnson."**

**.**

He lowered his hands and took a long swallow of the amber liquor, the glass trembling almost imperceptibly. The elf walked past the female mage to the living-room area of the converted warehouse, Susie backing out of arms reach to let him past before following. Turning on more lights, Susie curled up on the couch opposite the elf with the pistol in her lap and said, **"Okay, I'm listening. What's the job?"**

**.**

The Johnson paused, as if to collect his thoughts then said, **"A simple smash-and-grab. Something I attempted to acquire...legitimately...but was unable to convince the previous owner to part with it."**

**.**

That sounded like trouble. Susie knew she couldn't be the only shadowrunner for whatever this job was. Typically there had to be a decker, some muscle, maybe a rigger as well. If this Johnson was offering similar terms to the others, _**and**_, he had been outbid by the new owner... She wasn't sure she wanted to get between two of the rich and powerful in a pissing contest over what was probably some nouveau object d'art.

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He seemed to follow her thoughts as he said, **"Oh no, Mistress Susie, it's nothing like that." **He took another sip of the bourbon then said, **"I was unable to purchase the item because of a...philosophical difference."**

**.**

She pondered that for a moment. **"What sort of 'philosophical difference',"** she asked.

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The elf raised a manicured hand and said, **"That really isn't important at this time, my dear."** He shifted the hand to reach in side his raincoat. Susie instantly raised the Manhunter into a two-handed grip and snapped off the safety. Stopping his hand the elf said imploringly, **"Mistress Susie! Please."** She motioned him to continue. He slowly reached into his coat and withdrew a large manila envelope. Dropping the envelope on the coffee table, he tapped it twice then slid it across so Susie could reach it. **"Inside is the date and time of the pre-run briefing, who the other members of the team will most likely be, and a small incentive."** He smiled his perfect teeth at her and added,** "One-thousand nuyen, and a photo that might whet your appetite for what else I have to offer."**

**.**

Susie reached out and picked up the envelope, opened it with one hand, and dumped out the contents on the couch next to her hip. Inside were three items: a certified credstick, a piece of computer-printed paper, and a photo. Intrigued, Susie examined the photo. As realization dawned, her eyes widened and a small gasp escaped her mouth. Slightly grainy, and obviously a still of a video recording, the photo showed the Dodge in which her Charles had been killed. The angle of the image was from the opposite side of the lot where she had helplessly watched him die. With his head turned away from the camera, Susie could not see his face. _"He was looking at me,"_ she thought. A lump formed in her throat as Susie realized it must have been seconds before the explosion. She didn't need the camera to show her Charles' face, his last second on this Earth painfully burned forever into her mind's eye. But the most important thing the photo did show was a second figure reaching up from the back seat. _"Why put someone in the car with him only to blow it up?"_ she thought.

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The elf sat watching her. After he had waited for the ramifications of the image to sink in he said, **"I have a full two minutes of video of the parking lot. Consider it part of your payment."**

**.**

Susie, and others, had searched for this particular video since the murder, but to no avail. However, having the video after so long a time was not enough for Susie. She set down the photo and read the page of other prospective shadowrunners: some (Copper Neon, and Cole aka 'The Captain') she only knew by reputation. Zig and Zag she didn't know at all. Kill Switch she knew by rumor and innuendo. There was one name she was much more familiar with, one that gave a quick thrill of happiness: Yumi-no-tae (the Hand of Death), or as Susie knew her, Akiko. _"It would be fun to see Akiko again,"_ Susie thought. She had only seen her a few times since Detroit. Susie briefly wondered how Akiko was going to get around her banishment from Seattle to attend the meet. Reading on, the paper detailed that the pre-run briefing was in three days at Dante's Inferno, in a private room on the 'Hell' level. _"Expensive,"_ she thought. Susie glanced up to see the elf Johnson intently watching her. Nodding once she said, **"I'll be there."**

**.**

Exposing those brilliant teeth again, the Johnson smiled widely and said, **"Excellent, my dear! Excellent! I'm glad to have you on board."** Dashing off the remainder of his liquor, the elf stood, shook out and buttoned his long raincoat. **"Well, Mistress Susie, I must be off now but I shall see you again on Saturday,"** he said.

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She began to unwind from the couch but the elf held up a hand and said, **"Oh don't bother yourself, my dear. I'll let myself out the way I came in."** He sketched her a small bow then walked out of the living-room area to the stairwell. Susie heard his custom shoes clocking down the stairs to the ground floor loading dock. Not long after, her alarm panel chirped as he let himself out the street door, proving her alarm system had been disabled and left on standby.

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Susie sat on the couch for a few moments more before deciding she needed a drink. She got up began preparing an absinthe in the kitchen. As she watched the dripping ice water slowly dissolve the sugar cube, Susie thought over the ramifications of what the photo of Charles meant. Much like the absinthe's louche, her thoughts swirled and collided, and in the end produced something opaque. Memories of her Charles flickered across her mind, her early time in the shadows, how she had molded her Charles into what she wanted and what he needed, how after his death the plans her Charles arranged had saved her from a similar fate. Once her drink was ready she went back to the couch, again curling up, this time under a blanket.

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Susie sipped her absinthe, a faint smile on her face as her thoughts drifted back to more pleasant sinful memories of her Charles. As she stared off into space, a small voice said, **"Such a pretty man, Tabitha."**

**.**

Reluctantly dragged back to the present, Susie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. **"All elves are pretty, Piru,"** she replied. The mage opened her eyes and looked around for the spirit.

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Piru was sitting on the back of the stuffed chair where the Johnson had been. Piru was a free spirit that had been...attached to Susie a couple of years ago. After she had killed the spirit's former master, Piru had decided to follow her around. The spirit had a small child's maliciousness, often trying to put Susie into troublesome situations, and never seemed happier than if it was causing trouble. Piru could be helpful at times, adding power to Susie's spells, or scouting, or sharing its wealth of information. Most of the time Piru was simply an obnoxious pain in the ass, at worst the spirit had cruelty that easily surpassed Susie's own.

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For some obscene reason, shortly after being attached to Susie, Piru had chosen to physically manifest as a ten-year old Tabitha, the age she had been when her grandmother died. The same age when she moved to the farm. With the exception of a faint blue nimbus that sometimes surrounded the spirit, Piru looked precisely as Tabitha did when she was a girl, complete with hair ribbons and school uniform. Susie suspected Piru used this form, and the memories and regrets it often generated, as a macabre repayment for killing the spirit's former master. In the same vein, Piru had also taken to calling Susie by the name 'Tabitha' when no one was around, sometimes even using 'Tabby-Cat', the loathsome pet name her uncle gave her. Piru made sure to call her 'Susie' out loud when others could hear. Piru knew Susie could be pushed only so far, and if it went too far over the line, the erratic mage might attempt to banish or destroy the spirit.

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Piru kicked her Mary Janes back and forth and asked, **"So what did he want, Tabitha?"**

**.**

Susie sighed and said, **"Oh, what do all men want, Piru?."**

**.**

Piru's face screwed up in concentration as the spirit considered its reply. Susie repressed a shudder. Sometimes watching the spirit was like looking into a time-reversing mirror...back to before. Piru looked at Susie slyly and said, **"But if he was here for '**_**what all men want'**_**, how come you're still in your clothes?"**

**.**

'**That's not what I meant,"** Susie snapped. Exasperatedly sighing again Susie said, **"I meant he was lazy and wanted someone else to do his dirty work."**

**.**

Piru twisted some of her curls around a finger. **"You don't look tired enough for doing **_**'dirty work'**_**, little Tabby-Cat," **the spirit sweetly said.

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That revolting name echoed in Susie's ears. Bristling in sudden anger she barked, **"If you're going to be a bitch, Piru, why don't you go somewhere else."**

**.**

Piru pouted, the spirit actually sticking out its bottom lip. **"Well you're in a mood,"** it said, jumping off the back of the chair and flouncing away. Skirt swirling and curls bouncing, Piru faded out of sight. Just before it was gone completely the spirit said, **"I'll bet Akiko will be a lot more fun than you, especially when you're grumpy."**

**.**

Susie sighed again. She reset the alarm system, went back upstairs, and crawled back into bed. The sheets seemed to abrade her soft, over-sensitized skin. Unable to sleep deeply, Susie tossed and turned, the friction from the bedding almost enough to drive her mad. Drifting into half-formed dreams and fragmentary memories, Susie thrashed about as her mind raced.

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With an inarticulate frustrated snarl, Susie shot upright in her bed. She was too keyed up after the dream, the strange meeting with the Johnson, the argument with Piru, and all of the dredged up memories. She checked the clock: 4:17 am. Her breasts now ached, the delicious flutter in her belly had vanished leaving her belly a hollow pit. Sitting there in the dark an idea came to mind, causing a slow, lazy, sinister sort of smile to steal over Susie's face. She turned on the light, grabbed her phone, and dialed a number from memory.

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It rang three times before a male voice said, **"Yeah, hullo: Investigations, here."**

**.**

"**Raymond,"** Mistress Susie replied.

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She heard a quick intake of breath from the other end. In a hoarse whisper the man asked, **"Mistress?"**

**.**

"**Yes, Raymond," **she purred.

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"**Oh, Mistress,"** he whispered intently. **"It's been so long. I..."**

**. **

Susie could hear his desire already. Cutting him off she said, **"Raymond, listen now. You will come here after your shift ends in forty-three minutes. The street and stairwell doors will be open. You are to come upstairs to The Lair ...where I will be waiting."**

**.**

"**Mistress, uh...I could get off work early, um...even leave in a few minutes..."** he stammered.

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"**Did I tell you to leave early?"** she asked.

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Chagrin filled Raymond's voice as he said, **"No, Mistress."**

**.**

"**Then finish your shift as instructed,"** Susie said.** "It will give me time to prepare."**

**.**

"**Yes, Mistress,"** Raymond replied.

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Susie was about to hang up then said in a low dangerous voice, **"Raymond...if I can tell you have not...controlled yourself...before you get here, if thinking about me was...too...difficult."** She paused for effect. Susie injected some venom in her voice as she said, **"If that happens, Raymond...you **_**know**_** what to expect."**

**.**

Susie hung up. The flutter was back in her belly, and her t-shirt was deliciously chafing again. Mistress Susie glanced at the clock again thinking, "_I have just enough time for a quick shower, before I have to get ready."___

8


	3. Chapter 1a:Susie's Interlude

Okay, as I am sure you could see by where the last chapter left off, Susie invites a friend over. This chapter is quite mature, but in reality no more so than my mother's romance novels. And, I feel it is important to show who Susie is, and show some of her relationship with the spirit Piru.

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Chapter 1a: Susie's Interlude

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Susie wiped the steam off the mirror. Once the glass was clear, she backed up and admired her reflection. She stood, legs slightly spread, arms behind her head jutting out her breasts. Focusing on the woman in the full-length mirror she concentrated, gathering her magical energy. Locking the image firmly in her head, Susie cast her spell and slowly released the power at her reflection. She watched as the hair on her head dried and the natural curl came out. Susie twisted around slowly as the unwanted body hair fell away, and the extra pound or two vanished. Last was her make-up: the dark ruby lips, glitter-rouged cheeks, impossibly curved eyelashes, and her signature electric-blue eye shadow slowly appearing as the spell finished. _"Perfect,"_ she thought. Despite the cost, Susie was glad she had invested in the oversize glass mirror. A mage could only cast spells at something that could be seen, and without a large, quality mirror, she just couldn't see all of herself. She slipped in a pair of brown contact lenses to disguise her heterochromic eyes. Of all of her slaves, none except her Charles knew her true eye colors. Susie blew a kiss at the woman in the mirror before turning away.

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Entering her bedroom, Susie checked the clock: she still had more than ten minutes. She stepped into a wide, black satin garter belt. Susie sat down on the bed and pulled on her shiny off-black stockings, pulling the stockings up high and tight, and attaching the six garter tapes. Twisting at the waist she used the smaller bedroom mirror to straighten her back seams. Susie liberally sprayed herself with Luxuria, her favorite perfume. As its rich, decadent scent filled the air, Susie chuckled to herself, remembering her friend Stone had asked her to not wear it around him. Dana (the loudmouth of the group) had teasingly asked why and Stone had replied, **"Because when I smell it, all I can **_**think**_** about is sin."**

Susie pulled a short robe around her near nakedness. As she tightened the sash, a small voice asked, **"Who's coming over?"**

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Susie turned to find Piru sitting on the edge of the bed. Stepping into her slippers, Susie asked, **"Do you remember Raymond?"**

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Piru's face assumed a look of concentration. **"He is...the...policeman," **the spirit said hesitantly.

Susie withdrew a large set of keys from her nightstand. **"Lone Star Inspector,"** she corrected. Susie left the room, allowing Piru to follow before closing and locking it.

As Susie flipped through the key ring for the proper key to the upper stairs Piru asked, **"Can I come up and watch?"**

Susie stopped her key sorting for a moment as she considered the question. A powerful magical ward protected The Lair and the entire upper floor, blocking any sort of astral travel or observation...or passage by a spirit. Piru needed Susie's permission to cross the ward.

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Piru's request was not unheard of, as occasionally the spirit had watched Susie with a slave. Piru had a healthy appetite for observing any of Susie's interactions in The Lair. Although a couple of her previous slaves knew of Piru's existence, none of them had ever known the spirit watched them with Susie in The Lair. Piru had also watched Susie make some of the simsense she provided for the Halloween gang.

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"**If you want to, **_**and**_** you behave,"** Susie replied, unlocking the door. As they climbed the stairs the mage added, **"but tonight is liable to be rather...rough. I'm feeling particularly aggressive."** Susie paused on the top landing, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. The delicious aflutter yet heavy feeling again danced through her belly, the silky material of her robe teasingly caressed her skin. Feeling a warm anticipatory tingling beginning, Susie gave a breathy, **"**_**Mmmm**_**."**

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As Susie unlocked the door at the top of the stairs, Piru gave her an appraising look, seeing all of the signs of Susie's arousal. The spirit arched an eyebrow, the adult expression incongruous on the child face. **"That's because you're thinking about Charles, aren't you?"** the spirit asked.

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Susie contemplated the statement as they entered The Lair, closing the door behind them. As she flicked on the lights the mage replied, **"I suppose I am." **Decorative sconces were set on the walls whose light mimicked flickering candles. Opposite three black metal cabinets a large faux fireplace came to life as well. The walls had no windows, but the carefully positioned mirrors gave the impression of a larger room. There were two doors, the door in, and an equal door directly opposite that led to her arcanum. The ceiling was high, almost ten feet, so she had enough room to properly swing her whip. The floor had composite tile that appeared at first glance to be stone. Near the center of the floor was a small grated drain. Across the room was scattered various bondage furniture: sawhorse bench, stock, cross, disciplinary stool, y-frame, suspender gantry, and of course her Mistress chair.

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Closely followed by Piru, Susie moved to the three cabinets set against the left hand wall and unlocked them. Arms crossed, Susie stood before the first open cabinet, deciding on what she might need. She reached inside and removed several straps and chains, a ringed slave harnesses, and a collar, placing each item on a low table near the door.

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Closing the first cabinet, Susie moved to the second. From within she removed several implements of her passion: her cat', spanker paddle, and crop. Susie hesitated a moment, and then withdrew her heavy black bullwhip. These entire she also placed on the low table.

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Closing the second she opened the last of the cabinets, revealing all of her outfits. The simulated firelight glowed off the PVC clothing, creating its own glimmering dark beauty. Contained therein was the first outfit her Charles had given her (she had a replica made with armor for shadowrunning), various length gloves, boots, shoes, corsets, dresses, and skirts, all of liquid, gleaming black or rich indigo blue. All save one: a white vinyl nurse uniform and gloves, for those rare times her fancy struck to be a medical professional. Casting off her robe, she withdrew thigh boots, elbow length gloves, and a halter-style dress with a long front lace, all in gleaming black PVC. She unzipped and eased the tall boots up her legs, taking great care not to snag her stockings with her crimson fingernails.

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Susie turned her backside to Piru and asked, **"Are my seams still straight?"**

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Glancing up from the table that Susie had laid with her toys, Piru gave Susie a once-over and said, **"The left one is a little crooked."**

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Susie twisted it around until Piru nodded in approval. She then stepped into the halter dress, slipping it up over her curves. She buckled the neck, and set about pulling the lace to its proper tautness. When she was finished the dress fit her curves like a second skin, save where the pleats flared out at her hips. The dress left three inches of nylon-covered thigh visible above her boots. She crossed the tiled floor to the second door, unlocking it and entering her arcanum.

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She turned on a light and used the key ring to open a small door set into the wall. Behind the small door was a combination/biometric safe. Quickly opening the safe, Susie withdrew an ornate silver armband, sliding it onto her left arm over the elbow. Next was an intricately worked metal collar. She latched the collar around her neck (it had no lock). Directly below the intricately engraved word 'MISTRESS' depended a short chain attached to a handcuff key. She caressed both items, whispering a single word, activating their magical power.

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As Susie returned to The Lair proper, Piru sat on the sawhorse bench, dangling feet kicking back and forth. The spirit noticed Susie's collar and armband were magical focuses, giving her greater power for certain types of spells. Piru smiled slightly, knowing Susie often used her magic to enhance the feelings, emotions, and thoughts of her slaves...or to heal the damage she caused. Piru knew Susie could be erratic and sometime lost control in the depths of her passions, ignoring 'safe words'. That the mage chose to bring out the focus for healing spells (the armband) showed she was anticipating her own lack of control.

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Abruptly a red LED flashed above the door to the stairs, warning that someone had just used the street door. Susie quickly pulled on her gloves, smoothing their long length up her arm and lacing her fingers to pull them taught. She snatched up her favorite crop and sat in her Mistress chair. Clamping her thighs together, Susie crossed her legs and squirmed her bottom into the seat of the chair, the garter tapes slightly pinching her flesh. She could hear her blood in her ears, the heaviness in her belly not enough to counteract the dancing flutter. Without conscious thought her breathing became shallower but quicker. Susie noticed Piru was still visible, sitting on the sawhorse bench. The mage imperiously waved the spirit away. Piru gave her a lecherous grin, improper on the spirit's child face. Piru winked at Susie and then faded from sight.

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The door opened and Raymond walked into the room. He was of medium height, average in build with forgettable mouse-brown hair, wearing a pullover and jeans. He looked like the almost middle-age plain-clothes officer he was, skin flushed in anticipation, eyes bright with desire. Susie suspected he had arrived on his private motorcycle. He had shed his gun, badge, and any bike gear he had worn, most likely at the bottom of the stairwell. Eyes downcast, he stood next to the closed door awaiting her commands, as a proper slave should.

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Susie leaned back in her chair, and clearing her throat said, **"You may approach."**

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Ray quickly crossed the distance, dropping to his knees and bowing forward until his head touched the floor directly at Susie's feet. She placed her booted foot on his shoulder, the spike heel digging into his shoulder briefly. Removing her foot she said, **"Rise to your knees, slave." **

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Trembling, Ray sat back up, keeping his eyes downcast as he knew he should. Susie stared at him a moment more, savoring her power. **"Get yourself ready. Your things are on the table by the door,"** she said.

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His desire evident, he awkwardly jumped to his feet and recrossed the room, pulling off his shirt as he went. Susie rose from her chair and sauntered over to where he was removing his clothes, her spike heels loud in the quiet of the room. Ray slowed and cringed, knowing he was under her scrutiny. She smiled wickedly, admiring his timidity. Amidst the numerous light scars across his back, Susie saw a new large scar on his right-hand side. She raised her crop, the tip just grazing his back. He instantly froze at her touch. As Susie traced the large puckered scar she asked, **"How did you get this one?"**

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"**From a shotgun, Mistress,"** he said.

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"**Was it painful?"** she asked.

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He swallowed and said, **"Very much so, Mistress."**

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She _tsked_ and said, **"A pity I was not there to see you in such pain."** Susie circled him and noticed his nipple ring was gone. With the slightest hint of disapproval she asked, **"Where is your leash ring, slave?"**

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Eyes locked on the floor, Ray blushed and said, **"The piercing grew shut, Mistress. After my shotgun injury, the doctors put me in a medically induced coma for some time. As I would not wear it to work, unless you ordered me to do so, Mistress, I had no opportunity to put it back in until it was too late."**

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"**What about that sweet, little sometime-girlfriend of yours?**" Susie asked. She began tapping the tongue of the crop to her mouth in thought. **"What was her name: Annette...Georgette...Colette, some sort of 'ette', wasn't it?"**

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Embarrassment filling his voice he said, **"Her name was Charlotte, Mistress."**

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Just touching him with the tip of the crop she continued to circle him, barely brushing his skin. **"Didn't **_**she**_** tell you to put it back in, slave?"** Susie asked.

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Almost too quiet to hear he said, **"No, Mistress, she didn't like it."**

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"**No,"** she said contemplatively, **"I'm sure she didn't. I doubt a sweet and innocent thing like her would like evidence of your...**_**true**___**desires."** Susie sighed then added, **"But I suppose I can't hold that against her. We were **_**all**_** sweet and innocent...once."**

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Susie turned away from him and caught her reflection. For just a moment Susie also saw Piru in the mirror, sharp yet translucent. The spirit had its mouth curved in a half smile, hair ribbons fluttering as it twisted a finger through its curls. Susie started: as a girl she had played with her hair exactly the same way...until her uncle had broken her of the habit. He claimed it made her look flirty, and flirty was something she had rapidly learned to never do around him. Lost in her memories, Susie stood gazing at the image of her past and the reflection of her present standing side by side. Involuntarily, Susie extended a hand to Piru, a movement the spirit precisely matched. Almost to herself she quietly said, **"Yes...we were all sweet and innocent...once."** Leaving the past in the mirror, she whirled around and commanded, **"Finish stripping off."**

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Ray unbuckled his belt and hesitated. Susie would have none of that. Like a lightning strike she snapped out with the crop, hitting him hard across the small of his back. He let out a yelp, and quickly dropped his jeans, revealing that he had no underwear. Stepping out of his jeans, he turned to the table for the things his Mistress had laid out for him, but Susie stopped him with the crop tongue. **"Where is your underwear?"** she asked in a low voice, full of promised menace.

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Ray stood silent, his head down in shame, bottom lip quivering. Her voice dangerous, Susie said, **"I asked, '**_**Where is your underwear'**_**, slave."**

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"**I am...sorry, Mistress,"** he choked out.

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"**Oh, I understand now, slave,"** she said. **"You just couldn't resist...could you."** Susie cracked him with the crop again, eliciting another sharp yelp. **"Did you leave a mess in your underwear my slave? Were you afraid I would see it and know?"** She swung the crop hard, punctuating her words with lashes, **"That...I...would...know...that...you...DIS...OBEYED...ME?"**

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Muffled whimpers of pain and desperation slipped past his clenched lips and teeth as he stood there and took his chastisement, each blow increasing his desire. Susie felt the smoldering embers of her own arousal rising. She stopped lashing him and said, **"Finish putting on your harness and hood, slave.**" He immediately obeyed, buckling the harness of rings and straps across his torso, and the zippered hood over his head.

Susie let the crop dangle from her wrist as she snatched up the heavy metal collar from the table. Much like the collar she once had for her Charles, it had the words '_Property of Susie_' engraved on it (_that _collar none but her Charles had been permitted to wear). She latched the collar around his neck and attached a long leash chain. **"The safe-word for tonight is '**_**lamppost**_**'," **Susie said as she yanked the chain. **"Say it so I know you heard me, slave."**

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"**Lamppost, Mistress,"** he said in a muffled voice.

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"**You may, of course, use the safe-word whenever you feel you cannot take any more,"** she said. He nodded as she continued, **"If you use that word I will stop and release you...and you may go."** Susie wrapped the lead chain around her fist and yanked his head even with hers. Touching his chin with one gloved finger she raised his face, forcing him to look her in the eye. **"But remember,"** she hissed, "**once that word is spoken it cannot be **_**unspoken**_**."**

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Susie sighed sadly and continued, **"If you use that word, you will never again be permitted to return here. You will never again receive my attentions, never again be in my presence, and most likely you will never even enter into my thoughts. You will simply be a failed slave."** She pulled his face closer to hers. Susie heard him catch his breath and involuntarily shiver as her perfume reached his nostrils: Luxuria was magically and chemically enhanced to entice desire in males. In a low dangerous whisper Susie said, **"Do not disappoint me."**

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He slowly nodded. She pulled him along to the y-table. He laid facedown on the y-table, legs on the legs of the 'Y', and torso on the stem. Susie immediately strapped him down. She propped him up so he was on his knees, bent at the waist, his torso laying flat on the stem of the 'Y', each arm strapped down to the sides of the stem, His upper shoulders, neck, and head were just off the end of the table, hanging in midair.

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Hands on hips, Susie stepped back to admire her work. His first welts from the crop were raising such a beautiful angry red. She hadn't broken the skin yet, her crop wasn't designed for that level of...discipline. Picking up the spanker paddle, Susie dropped the crop onto the table. She gathered her magical power, concentrated on her helpless slave, and cast her emotion-enhancing spell. Now, whatever feelings or emotions he felt would be intensified, be they joy, desire, humiliation, submission, or ecstasy.

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"**Count them out for me," **Susie commanded.

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"**Yes, Mistress,"** was his muffled reply.

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Susie swung the spanker. Ray could hear the swish, and tensed before the blow. He let out a grunt as the blow landed, his bound body lurching against the restraints as he absorbed the shock.

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Susie barked, **"I said COUNT them, slave!"** She punctuated the word 'count' with the spanker.

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He let out a yelp followed by, **"One, Mistress!"**

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She swung again, this time two-handed. The paddle landed, eliciting a hissing cry and a, **"Two, Mistress!"**

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Susie belted him again forcing out a ragged, groaning **"Yessss!"** from him, followed by **"Three, Mistress!"**

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She grabbed the lead chain and yanked his head back asking, **"Oh, so it's '**_**Yes**_**' is it?"** Susie cracked his backside again asking, **"Do you like this?"**

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"**Yes!"** he sobbed. **"Yes! Four Mistress!"**

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She cracked him again. Now the skin on his backside was a flaming pink contrasting with crimson stripes from the crop. **"Do you like what I do to you my disobedient slave boy?"** Susie demanded as she hit him again. **"Do you?"** she yelled as she hit him again.

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He yowled and cried out, **"Five, six, seven, Mistress!"** Panting and straining against the straps he hissed**, "Yes! Yes! I love what you do to me, Mistress!"**

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Susie set the spanker down on the table and picked up her crop again. She traced the tip up his inner thigh, barely brushing his skin, his excitement evident. **"Yes, I can see that you do like what I do to you,"** Susie said. She gave a glancing swat between his trembling legs, forcing a long shuddering groan to escape his mouth.

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Susie lashed him with the crop across his backside for an even dozen, forcing him to count out each lash. With each strike his lust intensified until he was actually sobbing with his need for release. His entire back, buttocks, and back of his thighs were a glorious mixture of glowing pink flesh and red striped welts.

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After she had given him the dozen, Susie had to lean against the table to catch her breath. It had been quite some time since she had exerted herself like this with a slave, and her arms and shoulders ached dully. The inside of her dress was maddeningly abrading her nipples and her thighs were damp. Giving in to her own desire, she could hold out no longer. Susie had barely touched herself before she was rushing to orgasm. The tension and heaviness in her belly built quickly until she climaxed twice in quick succession. The first went bang, just like a gun. The second one was a deep, quivering hum that welled up from deep inside her belly and overtook her. So strong was her body's reaction that he knees briefly buckled.

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Susie shuddered deliciously with the aftershocks one last time, and then stood up straight. "**Now listen, my slave,"** she said,** "what has happened so far has been your much-needed punishment."** Susie paused and then added; **"But what comes now...is for my pleasure alone."**

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He tried to struggle, raising his torso as best he could against the restraints. Susie yanked on the lead chain, cutting into his throat with the collar. He let out a cry and laid back down on the y-table. Once he had settled she said, **"If you resist me again, slave...rest assured: I will use my bullwhip on you, not the cat'."** Susie paused then asked, **"Do you understand?"**

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When he gave no indication she yanked the chain again, causing a whimpering cry to escape his hood. **"Do...you...understand...slave?" ** Susie hissed.

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He nodded. Dropping the chain, she walked back to her table of devices. Her belly fluttered again as she closed her hand around the handle of her cat'. The flame-light glinted briefly off the chrome letters of her name adorning the handle, the first gift from her Charles. Mouth curled up in a cruel half-smile, she briefly checked the heft of the cat' and then started.

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Now here, at last, was a device designed for higher levels of discipline. He immediately tried to squirm away from the whip's stinging caress, but to no avail: Susie had strapped him down tight. She could hear his muffled cries, but they only enticed her. Over and over she swung the whip, each blow bringing her more excitement as they brought him pain.

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Susie slowly allowed the sensations to saturate her awareness. The display of the thongs of the cat' mesmerized her as they flowed out into a beautiful cloud. The slow burn of her shoulder as she swung the cat' had the pleasant familiar ache of a long satisfying workout. The faux flame-light danced hypnotically, raising liquid shadows and gleams from her clothing. Her nostrils flared, inundated with the decadent scent of her perfume, the uniquely male odor of her slave, and the combinations of their arousal. Every time the cat' fell, its music was the hiss of delayed passion, as it landed the enthralling harmony of leather and flesh. His moans, cries, grunts, and whimpers were a captivating melody. The furious red welts, the glowing pink flesh, set against the pale skin, all covered in a glistening sheen of hard earned sweat captivated her even as it enhanced her lust. The plethora of mirrors showed them from every angle, a myriad of both performers and audience in the dazzling pas de deux. She surrendered to this seduction of her senses, adrift in memories and desires as the whip continued to fall.

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Suddenly she saw the first of his blood. She lashed him again and again, his welts now blossoming into crimson slashes. The sight of the blood was intoxicating, swirling around her in a red fog of wicked memories. It had been so long since her Charles. This slave became every slave she ever had, every blow she had given, every agony she had inflicted, every will she had broken, and every punishment she had inflicted.

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Lost in these memories, her awareness slowly closed down to the sheer heady ecstasy of producing those rapturous bloody stripes. Faster and faster the whip fell. The desire to hurt, to punish, to make the blood run and swirl into new patterns was overwhelming, a sinful malevolent enchantment she could not resist. Susie felt on the edge of something grand...perfect...mighty...exhilarating...an artist about to create her masterpiece. His flesh was her canvas, his screams her symphony.

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Suddenly, into the red haze of her delirium, she heard Piru shout into her mind, **"TABITHA!"**

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Her arm drawn back to strike again, Susie's bewitchment ceased with an almost audible snap. In the sudden lull she heard his muffled shrieks of agony, the repeated screaming of the safe-word. Seeing the damage she had done, Susie quickly stripped off her gloves and gathered her magical power. Resisting the siren song of the powerful forbidden blood magic, she concentrated on her slave and cast her healing spell. In a few moments the lacerated skin closed and simply became welts. Most of the other welts vanished as she rolled back the clock on his injuries.

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He relaxed against the y-table. She leaned over him, crushing her breasts to his back, holding him down with her weight and again cast a spell: this one to cloud his memory and control his thoughts. **"Only exquisite pleasure, delicious, painful pleasure,"** she chanted over and over into his ear. As the magic took effect, she returned to the table.

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Susie could wait no longer to have her final needs fulfilled. She was on fire, the dampness on her thighs not cooling the furnace temperature of her skin. Tossing the cat' to the table, she stumbled around to his head, her legs watery with fatigue and the strength of her lust. Just in front of his head was a small stool-like chair latched to the y-table. With shaky hands, she unlatched the chair and dropped down onto it. Susie grabbed the back of his head and mashed his face tight between her damp thighs. A diligent slave, he understood what it was she wordlessly demanded.

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Susie threw her head back in ecstasy as his tongue snaked out, squirming out into the tight space between them. Almost without volition her booted legs swung up behind his masked head to pull him in tighter. She could feel the wave of her orgasm starting to roll. Like the tide, it drew back...back...her body tensed as she balanced on the precipice.

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Like the wavefront of a tsunami, her orgasm broke, flooding over and through her. Susie gave out an inarticulate cry as her hips bucked against his face once, twice, three times. Her back arched over the chair, lifting her bottom off the seat as her breath came in short gasps. Her legs and hands clamped down so hard on his head she nearly suffocated him. Vision greying around the edges, she swooned in rapture, until at last the orgasm subsided into aftershocks and then simple quivers.

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Susie dropped her legs off his back, flopping them down to the floor. She paused for a few moments, panting until her vision cleared. Susie tried to stand up from the seat and nearly fell. Although her legs were rubbery and weak she managed to stand on her second try.

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A faint whimper arose from his mask as he said, "**I beg your permission, Mistress."** In a keening whisper he said, **"PLEEEEASE, Mistress!"**

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Susie bent down, having to lean on his sweaty back for support, almost swooning as she bent over. He seemed only a touch away from his own long-delayed release. She had rarely willingly touched any man there, and this slave, while a diligent example of the species, was no exception. As quickly as she could, Susie undid his arm restraints and then dizzily stood up. She staggered tiredly over to her Mistress chair, flopped down into it and said, "**You have my permission**." She yawned, waved at him vaguely and added "**Finish yourself off, slave**."

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He eagerly used his now freed hands. In less than three seconds he cried out, collapsing on the table, and panting in bliss. **"Thank-you, Mistress,"** he gasped.

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"**You will go now**," Susie said, fighting off another yawn. At last she felt like she could sleep without dreams.

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With his freed hands Ray released his legs and shakily stood. He stripped off the hood and harness, placing both on the low table. He slowly put his clothes back on, hissing in pain as he did so. Once he was dressed Ray hesitantly approached Susie and said, **"Mistress?"**

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Susie was struggling to keep her eyes open. She waved him away and said, **"I will call you when I want you."**

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His head snapped up, a confused look on his face. **"B-but, Mistress...I...you ...the **_**safe-word**_**..."** he stammered.

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Susie winced, knowing she had forgotten something. Tiredly gathering her power a final time, she cast her spell at him, weaving her magic once again through his thoughts and memories. Looking at him with hooded eyes she said, **"What safe-word?"**

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Ray opened his mouth to reply, but stopped up short. He was certain he needed to say something. Shaking his head he simply said, **"Thank-you, Mistress."** She waved tiredly at him in dismissal. He turned and silently walked out of the room, hoping she called him again soon.

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When she saw the red LED over the door flash again, Susie dragged herself out of her chair. At the doorway she called out, **"Okay, Piru. Let's go so I can lock the door."** The spirit appeared next to her, an enigmatic smile on its young-Tabitha face. Susie motioned down the stairs. As Piru left, Susie gave the room a final look, tiredly noting the detritus of her appetites . _"I'll clean this up later,"_ she thought, turning off the lights.

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She closed and locked the door, and slowly descended the stairs. So weak were her legs, Susie had to cling to the railing. As soon as she exited the stairwell, Susie saw the grey morning sun peeking through the windows. Susie staggered into her bedroom and flopped onto the bed. Groaning, she laboriously unzipped and kicked off her boots. Piru sat in the corner chair, kicking her Mary Janes against the rungs. Susie rolled over on the bed so she could see the spirit. Struggling to stay awake she said, **"Thanks for...snapping me back."**

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Piru dropped the smile, nodded solemnly and said, **"I was certain you would have...kept going."**

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"**Maybe,"** Susie mumbled.

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Piru seemed to think for a moment and asked, **"Has that ever happened?"**

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"**Has what ever happened?"**, Susie grumbled, her voice faint with fatigue.

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"**Have you ever kept going?"** Piru asked. **"Ever not stopped?"**

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Susie yawned again, ending with a soft groan. **"Yes,"** she said. **"Once."**

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Piru, watched as Susie teetered on the edge of sleep. **"And what happened?"** the spirit asked.

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She roused herself back to the semblance of consciousness and said, **"I killed him."** Her breathing deepened as slumber began to overtake her. So quietly Piru wasn't sure it heard, Susie breathed out, **"What he did...his crimes...he deserved it..."**

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Susie was uncomfortable in the PVC dress and stockings. She thought briefly about getting out of her play clothes, but before that thought was complete she was asleep.

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	4. Chapter 2: Exile's Return

Okay, I hope the last chapter wasn't too rough for you all. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Sorry about the double-space/period thing. For some reason, my word-processing program and won't let the line breaks stay in as simple spaces.

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Return to Sender Chapter 2: Exile's Return

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Akiko stepped out of Caffe Vita, quickly sipping her cup of soykaf. Even with the insulated cup, the soykaf grew cold too fast for comfort. Turning the corner from Fourth onto South Washington, Akiko's glance flicked up at the Renraku arcology, blocking out part of the sky. She inhaled deeply, breathing the myriad scents of the International District. Although she had been born in Ohio, been trained and augmented in Japan, Akiko associated this place more closely with home. It had been more than three years since she had last been in Seattle.

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Akiko pushed her way through the throng. Even this late at night, the streets were clogged with the press of metahumanity. Suddenly the crowds thinned as a light rain began to fall and groups and individuals dashed inside. You could always tell the natives of Seattle rather than tourists or visitors: those not living here always ran for cover when the rain started. The natives simply carried on, their lone concession to the weather being a flipped up collar, hood, or an umbrella.

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Akiko chose the first, her jacket not having a hood, and her profession demanding her hands be free. She saw many Seattleites had opened cheap knock-offs of the trendy light-tube umbrellas. As they hurried Akiko could see their faces illuminated in pastel shades of white, red, yellow, and blue. Despite her professionalism Akiko briefly wondered if she should buy an umbrella, lest the fashionable, color-gelled streaks in her hair run. The bottle had claimed the formula was waterproof, but truth in advertising had been slowly corrupted in the Sixth World.

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With the rain and late hour, most decided to call it a night, the streets clearing rapidly except for a few individuals. Those few had the streets to themselves, others much like Akiko, or those too destitute to have more of a home than a shipping box or a bus bench. Either way, none bothered the petite Asian woman. Akiko knew tonight, of all nights, she could walk the streets of the International District in safety: her Seattle privileges had been restored.

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Less than a week ago Akiko had been forbidden, upon pain of death (and as painful a death as could be contrived), to enter Seattle. Save for the rare layover or airport transfer, she had kept away as required by Lady Nagisa Shotozumi, oyabun of the Seattle yakuza.

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The lady oyabun, after more than three years, abruptly summoned Akiko back to Seattle. Last week, Akiko came home to her crib in Long Beach to find a message from Lady Nagisa, the note and origami sitting on her tiny kitchen table. None of her markers had been disturbed. She often left slips of paper arranged in certain ways, or threads across doorjambs as warnings that someone had entered her crib while she was away. There was a note addressed to 'Yumi-no-tae', her old street name meaning 'Hand of Death'. Beyond the name it simply had a time, hotel, and room number. The origami was a brown llama: a color and symbol signifying loyalty and responsibility. Akiko suspected Lady Nagisa had decided the time had come for Akiko to pay the ultimate price for her previous failure, the failure that led to her banishment from Seattle.

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The scheduled meeting time was late the following evening. She spent the remainder of that day, and most of the next, getting her affairs in order. Akiko liquidated her few assets save her weapons. Leaving a certified credstick for her landlord to pay off her balance, Akiko put the remainder of her assets onto another credstick, attaching it to a string to hang from the back of her neck. She would make it an offering to the headsman to strike cleanly and quickly.

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Akiko arrived at the LAX Hilton at the proper time. Outside the room two yakuza foot soldiers relieved Akiko of her pistol and submachine gun, foot soldiers just like she had been many years ago. Using a zip-tie, they bound her wrists behind her back to prevent her using the custom finger razors of which she was so justifiably proud. Akiko was then ushered into the presence of Keiji. When she had been a faithful servant of Lady Nagisa's father, Keiji had barely been higher in rank than Akiko herself, but the foot soldiers now addressed him as fuku-honbucho (regional chief).

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Keiji sat in the small meeting room, sipping brandy. As she entered he bobbed his head and said, **"Yumi-no-tae,"** by way of greeting.

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Akiko bowed as fluidly as she could with her arms restrained. **"Keiji-san."**

Keiji savored another swallow of his liquor. He studied the amber liquid as he slowly swirled it in the glass. Without raising his eyes he said, **"Lady Nagisa commands you to return to Seattle."** He raised his head and vaguely gestured to the foot soldiers and himself. **"We are to escort you."**

**.**

Akiko bowed again and said, **"I am the oyabun's to command, Keiji-san."**

**.**

Keiji gave her an appraising look before he asked, **"Do I have your word that, if I order your hands released, you will not attempt to injure any of us?" **He paused and then added, **"Or yourself?"**

**.**

"**I give you my promise," **Akiko said. _"As if I could do anything meaningful..."_ she thought. Akiko knew her skills, but during the search she felt the strength of the pair of foot soldiers: they were built like tanks with heavy cyber augmentation.

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"**Good,"** Keiji said. He motioned to the two thugs. One cut Akiko's hands loose, the other turned away, clearly speaking into an internal headset radio. Tossing back the rest of his brandy, Keiji heaved his body up out of the chair. **"Very good,"** he said** "Our flight leaves in ninety minutes."**

**.**

They had flown to Seattle that night. Akiko worried about airport security as flying from Free California to Seattle was international and her passport had recently expired. But Akiko soon realized she needn't have worried, the servants of the oyabun had already made special arrangements. They were able to get her on the plane, albeit segregated in the aft with the foot soldiers and others with dangerous cyberware, her firearms secured in with the other baggage.

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A driver with a big Jeep SUV waited for them at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport. Akiko augmented hearing could detect the heavy modifications to the Jeep's engine to produce more horsepower. Once they were moving, her other senses picked up that it had been armored as well. They rode up the North Road, what knowledgeable Seattleites still called it the I-5, taking the West Seattle Bridge to the viaduct along the waterfront. As they rode the viaduct, Akiko stared out the window. She knew somewhere below, her best friend Susie had a place. In the couple of times they had met outside Seattle in the last few years, or spoke on the phone, Susie had mentioned being able to see the viaduct from her windows. Dirty orange light was visible from the lofty height. Akiko could see a warehouse on the docks aflame...Seattle never changed.

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Finally, the armored Jeep stopped at a waterfront complex, a very modern assemblage of polarized glass, aluminum, concrete, and steel. Keiji and the foot soldiers escorted Akiko inside, having her wait outside a room while Keiji reported to the oyabun privately. After only a few minutes, Akiko was taken into the presence of Lady Nagisa. Akiko took a moment to remove her jacket, properly hang her credstick off the back of her neck, and then entered the room. Taking the requisite number of steps, she dropped to her knees, and bowed her head to the floor. **"Oyabun Lady Nagisa,"** Akiko said,** "I have come as you commanded, and am ever your servant."**

**.**

Lady Nagisa acknowledged Akiko's presence, and then motioned for her to rise from the floor. As Akiko rose to her knees, she got her first look at the oyabun in over three years. Based on her memories, Akiko expected Lady Nagisa to be dressed in traditional attire, but the lady oyabun proved to be as modern as her building. Lady Nagisa was dressed in a tailored charcoal-grey suit, sitting behind a large macroplast desk. Her only concessions to tradition were the pair of jeweled kanzashi securing her long ebony hair up into a bun, the artwork that decorated the walls, and the muted music playing from hidden speakers.

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"**Yumi-no-tae,"** Lady Nagisa said,** "your failure to protect my father was well known. His security was put into your hands, yet still he was killed."** She paused, and then rose from behind the desk, switching off the music. Lady Nagisa Shotozumi was tall for a Japanese woman, her black designer pumps adding to that height. She stepped around to the front of the desk and said, **"It seems that...your failure was not entirely your own. Within our chivalrous organization a traitor helped to place more blame on you than was warranted. He bore no responsibility for my father's death, he merely took advantage of the situation to further enrich himself."** She waited a beat before saying,** "That situation has been rectified."**

**.**

Lady Nagisa sighed then continued, **"When last we met, my grief and anger nearly overwhelmed me. That, the traitor's influence, and the subsequent struggle to retain my position here, colluded to make sure your failure did not receive proper investigation. Only after time had dulled the grief, cooled the rage, could a clear eye be turned to it, allowing us to discover the truth."** She crossed her arms as she looked down on Akiko. **"As oyabun, I must correct this...misunderstanding. The expulsion order against you is rescinded, Yumi-no-tae. As oyabun, I accept your previous submission of yubitsume. With that act, your failure is mitigated."**

**.**

Akiko kept her face stoic, but inside she came as close to joy as she was capable._ "She accepted my _yubitsume _in full,"_ Akiko thought. At her last meeting with Lady Nagisa, the yubitsume (the ritual removal of the last joint of her left pinkie to expatiate failure), only saved her life and earned an expulsion from Seattle, not forgiven her failure. Afterwards, Akiko long suspected that had Lady Nagisa not known her since adolescence, no amount of sacrifice would have been enough atonement. Bowing back down to the floor Akiko said, **"I thank-you, my Oyabun."**

**.**

Lady Nagisa sighed again and said, **"Do not thank me yet, Yumi-no-tae."** As she began to pace in the silence of the room, Akiko's cyber augmented hearing amplified the muffled clunk of Lady Nagisa's heels hitting the plush carpet, and the nylon whisper of her legs. "**My father felt in some way responsible for you, an honorable debt that he repaid in many ways: by the training he provided for you, by permitting you to stay in our service, and most importantly he turned a blind eye to your...outside activities," **Lady Nagisa admitted, a reference to Akiko's sideline shadowrunning, and the unusual circumstances by which she came to originally be in oyabun Hanzo Shotozumi's service.

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As Lady Nagisa stopped pacing she said, **"And as the new oyabun, even in the depths of my grief and the heights of my rage, I could not dishonor his wisdom by having you slain."** Akiko remembered clearly the personal struggle Lady Nagisa went through at the time not to simply kill her where she stood.

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The Lady sighed again and pressed on,** "So also, as Oyabun, I must accept your recompense."** Lady Nagisa saw Akiko was about to speak. Uncrossing her arms, she held up a perfectly manicured hand and said,** "But as the daughter of my father, I cannot return you to my service yet."** Lady Nagisa waved vaguely to indicate the city at large. As she waved, a series of delicate gold bracelets on one wrist tinkled.** "You may come and go in my domain as you wish: the expulsion is fully rescinded. My people with do nothing to impede you, you may even occasionally draw upon this organization for resources,"** She paused and recrossed her arms. When she spoke again there was a finality in her voice, ** "But not until the true murderer of my father has been brought to me will I take you back into service." **Lady Nagisa motioned with her chin to Akiko in dismissal and said, **"When next we meet, Akiko, I hope you will bring me a gift beyond price."**

**.**

Akiko heard the door open behind her, signaling the end of the audience. She climbed to her feet and backed out of the room. The two foot soldiers were waiting outside. One held out her jacket for her, the other offered Akiko her confiscated pistol and submachine gun. Once she had taken them back they both smiled at her. One gave a short bow and said, **"Good hunting, Yumi-no-tae."**

**.**

As she mused over her recent fortune, Akiko's feet had taken her to the Waterfall Garden. She always admired its positive energy and simple, gentle beauty. In times past, Akiko had found herself spending hours in the Garden, trying to explore the flickering glimmers of the feelings she experienced, and what they might mean. As far back as she could remember Akiko did not understand feelings and emotions as others did. Most of the time, her life passed in a singular grey cloud, sign-posted by brief intense experiences. Many of those feelings and emotions were enigma, and often Akiko needed to artificially produce them with simsense. With this most recent whirlwind of changes, some small part of her mind must have subconsciously brought her here to try and sort and classify her barely felt emotions.

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At this time of night, and with the steady winter drizzle, Akiko had the garden to herself except for the few ubiquitous squatters. If any of them thought to approach her for anything, the dark wraparound sunglasses and the unerring way she made her way about the Garden dissuaded them. To wear such dark shades as those, in the middle of the night, hinted at serious cyberware, and that possibility made her far more trouble than any spare change, or brief sexual gratification they might obtain.

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Something intruded on Akiko's emotional searching: a woman's shriek. Akiko's augmented hearing pinpointed the origin of the noise between two buildings across from the entrance to the Garden. Automatically clicking her vision to thermal, she scoped the alley, seeing a smaller body (most likely the shrieking female) struggling with two larger bodies, one troll-sized. Akiko broke off her introspection and trotted across the street, keeping the altercation under observation.

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The three people were involved enough with their own exchange that none of them detected Akiko's approach. Just as she reached the entrance to the alley, the female went down hard from a blow to the head, not rising. For better close-up clarity, Akiko switched her eyes from thermal to low-light. Working together, the attackers quickly spread their victim facedown across a garbage can, and proceeded to yank her metallic pants down to her ankles. The female weakly tried to push the males away, but to no avail. Akiko's enhanced hearing picked up what the troll and man were saying.

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Grabbing his companion's shoulder the troll growled, **"I'm going first."**

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"**Oh, come on, man!"** the man whined. **"You completely **_**wreck**_** 'em when your first, Sid!"**

**.**

The troll turned the smaller man around by the shoulder and said, **"I'm not taking sloppy seconds."** He shrugged and suggested, **"You can put it in her mouth."**

**.**

"**Uh-uh,"** the man replied emphatically. **"Remember what happened to Tommy? He was lucky to just loose some foreskin."**

**.**

"**Welll..." **Sid the troll drawled,** "ya' know could always 'shoot da hoop'." **

**.**

"**Awww man,"** the man said, **"If you would do a chick in the ass, you would do a **_**dude**_** in the ass."**

**.**

"**Suit yerself," **Sid the troll said. **"But understand: if you don't shoot da' hoop, I'm **_**still**_** taking her cooch first."**

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"_**FINE!**_**" **the man barked. Unbuckling his pants he said, **"But next time you take the ass."**

**.**

Sid the troll chuckled and said, **"Omae, if I stuck it a chica's hoop, she would be dead before I was done."**

**.**

It was rare Akiko felt any emotion, even from a young age, but now she felt mildly revolted by their callous banter. Out of the depths of the grey fog that usually took the place of her emotions, anger and pity rose to the surface. Jazzing her reflexes to the maximum Akiko drew her Walther pistol and said, **"Hey, chummers**."

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Sid and his companion immediately snapped around at her voice. The man quickly tried to get his pants up as the troll said, **"Well looky here Jimbo, another chica wants to join the party."** Sid chuckled evilly and added, **"I'll take this one."** He jerked his head back at the nearly unconscious woman bent over the garbage can.** "You can have the skank for yourself."**

**.**

"**Watch it, Sid. She's got a piece," **Jimbo warned. He stumbled as he tried to get his pants up. Akiko saw the glint of a chipjack on his temple as Jimbo staggered around.

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Sid the troll pulled out a large broad-bladed knife, almost a machete or long cleaver. He brandished the blade and said, **"That little popgun won't stop me before I split her in half."** A large grin split Sid's face, revealing his ongoing lack of proper dental care. Licking his lips, the troll charged.

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As it always did for Akiko, time seemed to slow down as her cyber-enhanced reflexes took over. Before Sid made it half of the way to her, she had shot him in the right shoulder and was still moving towards him. She saw him grimace in pain from her light caliber bullet as she got off one more round, causing the troll to jerk back as she grazed his head. Sid swung his cleaver, Akiko dropping low and losing her dark sunglasses as she skimmed the wet filthy pavement. She felt the wind of the cleaver's passage, but it did not touch her. Gracefully recovering, Akiko then jumped straight up in the air. Faster than the eye could see her razors snapped out of her right hand and plunged into the troll's eyes. With a piercing scream Sid promptly collapsed to the ground. Akiko landed lightly, then put one last round through his open screaming mouth, blowing off a chunk of the skull between his horns. As her long ago instructors taught her, Akiko put a final round through the troll's eye to make sure.

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Jimbo had just gotten his pants up and buckled as Akiko turned on him. He gasped as he viewed the eyes she had hidden behind the shades. Perfect chrome orbs, slightly larger than normal human eyes, stared out of her face. Holding up his hands, Jimbo immediately yelled, **"Wait! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"**

**.**

Akiko retracted her razors and transferred her pistol to that hand. Reaching into her jacket pocket she removed a small round device, perhaps twelve centimeters long with a gold chipjack connector on one end. She held it out to Jimbo and said, **"You are going to plug this into your chipjack."**

**.**

Jimbo looked confused as he said, **"What?"**

**.**

"**Plug that in, **_**Jimbo,**_**" **Akiko said more firmly, tossing him the device.

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Jimbo gracelessly caught the device. While looking it over he asked, **"Uh...what is it, lady?"**

**.**

"**It is a simsense recorder,"** she replied.

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The woman lying across the garbage can groaned and tried to rise. As Jimbo glanced at her, Akiko flashed across the remaining distance and grabbed him by the throat. He yelped as she said, **"You will plug this in so I can record you...at the moment of your death."**

**.**

Terror streaked across Jimbo's face as he stammered, **"Whaaa? You want me to...what?"**

**.**

"**I wish record your dying feelings and emotions, so I can...experience them,"** Akiko replied.

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Abruptly a car pulled across the end of the alley, a long stretch Mitsubishi limousine, gleaming under the streetlight glow. The back door opened and a smooth voice came from the darkened interior, **"Yumi-no-tae? Is that you, Yumi-no-tae?"** There was a pause as Akiko turned to face the car, placing the captive Jimbo in front of her. **"Now, now, my dear,"** the voice said from within the vehicle. ** "I need to talk to you about an employment opportunity."**

**.**

The female victim had gotten up off the ground, her clothes finally back in order. The woman had the look of a joygirl, and a tweaked out one at that. Ridiculously high heels clacking, she stalked up to the limo and shouted inside, **"They was only supposed to rough me up a **_**little**_**, you bastard!"** She glared over her shoulder at Jimbo before she yelled again at the open limo door,** "And you never said nothin' about one of em' **_**ass-rapin'**_** me, neither!"** She drew herself up in a huff and added in a much quieter voice, **"That costs extra."**

**.**

A man's manicured hand extended from the interior, some cash nuyen held between two fingers. **"I'm sure they were simply extemporizing, but you are quite right."** The hooker grabbed the cash and walked out of the alley, merrily on her way to get her fix.

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The voice once again addressed Akiko, **"Yumi-no-tae, if you will let Mister Jimbo loose, we can get down to business."** Akiko thought a moment, and then released the captive Jimbo, taking the simsense recorder back from him. He immediately stumbled away from her towards the limo.

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The voice from the car asked, **"And where is Mister Sid?"** Jimbo pointed to the motionless hulk of the troll on the street. **"Ah,"** the voice said. **"Well, fortunes of war I suppose." **A credstick flew out at Jimbo, who bobbled it before he pocketed it. **"You can have his remaining half as well."** Another credstick flashed out, Jimbo doing a better job catching it.

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Jimbo looked one last time at Akiko's inhuman chrome eyes. As he left the alley he shook his head and quietly said, **"Way too fucked up..."**

**.**

After she retrieved her sunglasses, Akiko cautiously approached the limo. The left hand emerged again and extended a handkerchief to her. She saw a gold pinkie ring, and gold and lapis lazuli cufflinks on the shirt extending from a dark blue suit sleeve. The remainder of the speaker was lost inside the darkness of the limo. Akiko took the handkerchief, extending her razors and wiping Sid's blood off of them and her hand. She neatly folded up the handkerchief to enclose the blood. As she handed it back the voice said, **"Won't you come in out of the rain, my dear, so we can talk?" ** The voice had the sound of 'corporate' all over it. She shrugged, put her shades into her jacket pocket, and entered the Mitsubishi limo, facing the rear of the vehicle.

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The door quickly closed behind her. Akiko's augmented hearing could detect the faint whirr of the door motor, but she knew that to most anyone else it was completely silent. Settling into the seat she got her first look at the possessor of the voice. He was an elf, with unusually swarthy skin, and very black close-cropped hair that surprisingly seemed to be receding. Despite the receding hairline, he epitomized the ageless look most elves had. He smiled at her, exposing two rows of perfect white teeth. A mostly empty glass of amber liquor and ice cubes was in his right hand. **"I am pleased to meet you at last, Yumi-no-tae."** He cocked an eyebrow and asked, **"Or would you prefer to be addressed as 'Akiko'?"**

**.**

She sighed slightly. _"So he knows my real name,"_ she thought. Akiko briefly considered killing him, but she knew this model of Mitsubishi limo was often equipped with lethal internal defenses. Deciding to hear the elf out she said, **"Akiko will be acceptable, Mister...ah?"**

**.**

He flashed her another smile and said, **"Why, Mister Johnson, of course."**

**.**

"**As you wish, "** Akiko _hmphed_. She sat back in the plush seat and said, **"I believe you spoke of employment, Mister Johnson."**

**.**

He smiled again and said, **"Of course Miss Akiko. Let's take a spin and discuss my offer."** He finished off his drink and addressed the vehicle in a tone long accustomed to command, **"Pilot: take us on the club route." **The autopilot immediately pulled the limo away from the alley.

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Johnson shook his glass at Akiko, the mostly melted ice cubes tinkling. **"Care for some refreshment, my dear?"** he asked.

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"**No,"** she replied.

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The Johnson shrugged and said, **"Suit yourself."** The elf pushed his glass into a built-in dispenser. More liquor came out of the nozzle in a thin jet, refilling his glass.

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"**The job?"** Akiko reminded him.

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The elf took a quick swallow of his liquor, almost smacking his lips. **"**_**Mmmm**_**,"** he grunted. **"Of course, Miss Akiko. Forgive me. I am certain you are a busy woman. I will come to the point."** The Johnson placed his glass in a cup holder and continued,** "It's a simple smash-and-grab. The payment is thirty-K: half up front, half upon delivery."**

**.**

"_That's a fair amount of money,"_ she thought. It seemed a lot for a smash-and-grab...unless the smash-and-grab was against the Governor's mansion, or Lone Star Central. **"Where is it and what am I grabbing?"**

**.**

The elf pushed a button on his armrest. A small door flipped open on Akiko's side of the car. She immediately held her breath and zipped away to the opposite side of the car with preternatural speed. Tensed for an attack, her hand razors snapped out in defense.

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The Johnson held up both manicured hands and said, **"Please! Miss Akiko, I mean you no harm!"** She slowly uncoiled, letting out her breath. The door concealed a small compartment, inside of which was a manila envelope. Akiko retracted her razors, cautiously picked up the envelope, and opened it. Inside was a credstick and a printed piece of paper. She touched the credstick's balance button: it read 1000. Akiko glanced up at the elf. "**A small incentive,"** he said. Shrugging slightly the elf added,** "or compensation for your time should you choose not to join the crew."**

**.**

Akiko read the printed paper: a pre-run briefing in two days at Dante's Inferno, and a list of the other possible members of the shadowrun team. She had been out of the Seattle scene long enough that many of them were unknown to her: Copper Neon, Cole, Zig and Zag. There were only two names of which she had any knowledge. The first, Kill Switch, she knew by reputation and rumor. The other caused a slight emotion of happiness to surface: Mistress Susie. Akiko knew her friend's real name was Tabitha, but she always called her by the name Susie; to Akiko, Susie is who she really was, not Tabitha. Upon surviving the audience with Lady Nagisa, Akiko had briefly considered seeking out her friend and asking her help, but she decided against dragging Susie into her personal problems.

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Akiko felt another faint tugging of longing to see her friend again, but ignored it as she previously ignored the first. She had another mission to complete at the moment. **"I am sorry, Mr. Johnson," **she said. Akiko dropped the envelope, credstick, and paper back into the compartment and said,** "I am currently occupied with another assignment and cannot spare the time."**

**.**

Though the Johnson's face was placid, she could almost hear the machinery of his thoughts cranking up. He cocked the finely shaped ebony eyebrow again and said, **"I have more to offer."**

**.**

"**I do not necessarily need more money,"** she said.

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The Johnson used a well-oiled negotiation voice as he said, **"Of course not, my dear. What I have to offer is not more currency."** He spread out his arms across the back of his seat and said, **"Let's review your situation, shall we: you have just been permitted back to Seattle after being expelled by your parent organization, an organization you faithfully served for many years."** he paused, giving the illusion of thought then added,** "Since you were a 'tween' if I recall correctly."** Unable to get any sort of reaction from Akiko, the Johnson sighed and continued,** "This organization found you culpable in the death of your superior. They only recently discovered you were not as guilty as they initially believed, and have tasked you with discovering the true culprit."** He smile beatifically, then laced his fingers together. **"Should you succeed in your quest, the 'other assignment' you mentioned, you will be welcomed home with open arms."** His look was that of a contented cat as he asked, **"Does that about cover it?"**

**. **

Akiko's chrome Chiba eyes regarded the Johnson. He was very well informed. In a flat voice she said, **"That is a succinct summary, Mr. Johnson."** She turned her head sideways, chrome eyes creating reflections of the passing lights. "**But I fail to see how your...assessment...of the situation changes my plans."**

**.**

The elf Johnson gave another slight smile, and then said, **"In my possession I have certain information that can help you in your quest."**

**. **

Thinking of the chip Keiji provided her as she left her audience Akiko said, **"I already have such information."**

**.**

"**I am certain you do, my dear,"** the elf replied smoothly.** "But can you trust its veracity?"**

Snapping her head back to the Johnson, Akiko said, **"What do you mean?**

**."**

The elf shrugged and said,** "Well, after all, the information you have was **_**compiled**_** by your parent organization **_**about**_**that organization. As I am sure you are aware, many within your group have their own interests at heart, leading to..." **the elf paused, his lips pursing in thought before he continued, **"perhaps leading to, shall we say, a...**_**carefully edited**_** version of the facts."**

**.**

"**No one would dare lie to my Oyabun,"** Akiko hissed.

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The Johnson chuckled and said, **"Of course not, Miss Akiko. They would never dare get caught lying to the Tiger Lady of Seattle." **Still smiling he shook his head sadly and added,** "But they would not care one bit about lying to **_**you,**_ **my dear."**

**.**

She mulled over what the Johnson had said. Akiko was usually quite hopeless in guessing or gauging the emotions of others, but she had a keen understanding of deception. This elven Johnson covered it well, but he was hiding something, she was certain of it. But even with that knowledge, Akiko could not deny that he might be right. Too much about the death of the old oyabun made little sense, then or now. _"What if there were more than one traitor?"_ she thought. As foreign and revolting as that thought was, Akiko could not deny that some within the yakuza did not have her own level of loyalty to their chivalrous organization. If a short side job was all that was required to gain added information, then her path was clear.

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Thinking about this short side job, she felt the faint emotional tugging again. Following that pull, Akiko asked, **"Has Susie accepted your offer?"**

**.**

The Johnson's smile turned into a grin as he said, **"I spoke with her just last evening, at her home."**

**.**

"**You did not answer my question,"** she said.

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The Johnson nodded and said, **"After an initial...ah...moment of...**_**apprehension,**_** shall we say, she agreed."**

**.**

Akiko tried to imagine what that 'moment of apprehension' looked like. She decided that, with Susie, it could very well be anything. **"Very well Mr. Johnson, I accept your terms."**

**.**

"**Excellent!"** the elf crowed. He pushed one of the buttons on his armrest. Another door opened next to him, a bottle of champagne popping up out of the cavity. Steam rose off the chilled bottle. The Johnson plucked out a stemmed glass and asked, **"Some bubbly to celebrate?"**

**.**

Akiko shook her head and said, **"I do not usually enjoy champagne."**

**.**

The elf popped the cork and poured a glass of the sparkling golden liquid. He held out the flute and said, **"You'll enjoy this: it's Taittinger."**

**.**

"**No...thank-you," ** she said.

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The Johnson shrugged and said, **"Your loss."** His face transformed into bliss as he sipped the champagne.

.

Akiko continued to stare out of the window, the multicolored lights of the streets melting together as the rain continued to fall. The car was on Fifth Avenue and had just passed Club Penumbra. Even at this late hour, and with the rain, club-goers dashed across the street to get inside. Akiko could tell by their dress that most were posers rather than actual shadowrunners. She remembered the last time she had been inside Penumbra, with Stone, Viper, Dana, and Susie. It seemed another life, back before Detroit and her failure.

.

The memory sparked an unfamiliar and almost painful feeling, one she had yet to classify. It left her with an emptiness, an achy hollowness, but unlike her usual emotionless state. It was not unlike what she felt when she dwelled too long on thoughts of her own long-dead father.

.

Akiko turned back to the Johnson, who had just finished his glass with relish. Raising an eyebrow to her look he asked, **"Can I drop you somewhere, Miss Akiko?"** A faint look of disgust came over his chiseled face as he said,** "I understand you are staying at the...Merideth."**

**.**

Akiko was glad this Johnson didn't know everything about her: she had checked out of the Merideth Comfy Cubicle just a few hours ago, intending to step up her accommodations from the coffin hotel. She also needed to go shopping for clothes and other things. Except for cash, she didn't have much. Nearly everything she owned was on her person, her few other remaining possessions stashed in a locker at the Seattle Central monorail station. Responding to her perplexing feelings, Akiko asked, **"Could you take me to Susie's place?"**

**.**

The Johnson nodded as he poured more of the Taittinger. Again he addressed the car, **"Pilot: Seventeen South Massachusetts Avenue,"** he said.

.

The Mitsubishi limo pulled up across the street from a four-story warehouse. The ancient building sported a large roll-up door and a disintegrating metal awning over a normal street door. In front of the building, two burned out cars blocked the curb. Akiko's professional eye noticed two squatters camped out on the curb between the cars, huddled up close in the rain, possibly sharing a bottle. Her professional assessment was they were most likely lookouts or guards. As the Johnson opened the door, Akiko activated her wired reflexes. He waved good-bye to her as she exited the car into the continuing light rain. **"Goodnight, my dear,"** he said as he sipped more champagne. ** "I'll see you at the Inferno."**

**.**

Akiko moved slowly to try to hide her chipped-up reflexes. She put the limo between her and the lookout 'squatters', and crossed the street as the limo sped away. Akiko took her time, making sure the lookouts saw her, stopping as soon as she reached the curb. As Akiko expected, the two 'squatters' morphed into go-gangers; a man and an ork. Akiko remembered when last she was in Seattle, the Halloween gang controlled this part of the city. As the gangers approached, the ork hung back and covered her with a large, drum-fed, Street Sweeper shotgun. The man walked right up to her, stopping outside of her easy reach, and outside the firelane for the ork's shotgun. Holding a Steyr machine pistol with casual ease he asked, **"Ya got bizz here, girlie?"**

**.**

She looked them over. Both were wearing typical go-ganger bike synthleathers under their shabby raincoats, black and orange being the predominant colors. Akiko knew she could probably take them both, but chose discretion as the better part of valor. Most likely they were here looking out for her friend, Susie. Still holding out her hands Akiko said, **"Null sheen: I'm here to see Susie."**

**.**

"**Izzat a fact?"** he said. He flipped out a small cell phone and said, **"Let's see if you're on the guest list."** The man hated to bother the mage, especially just after she had brought them a thermos of hot and sweet soykaf to keep them warm in the rain. Shrugging, he punched one button, waited a few seconds, and then said, "**Hey Suze. Sorry to bug ya'. We gotta chica down here who sez she knows you."** He listened a moment, looked at Akiko and asked, **"And you are...?"**

**.**

Akiko looked him full in the face and said, **"Yumi-no-tae."**

**.**

The ganger whistled softly as he saw Akiko's chromed eyeballs. He sounded out her name into the phone, waited, and then said, **"So ka, Suze."** He closed the phone and motioned to the shotgun-toting ork, causing the ork to lower the scattergun and amble away. The man nodded to Akiko and said, **"She'll be right down."** He grinned and added as he turned away, **"Those're some really wiz eyes, chica."**

**. **

Akiko nodded in thanks, and stepped up to the street door under the dilapidated awning. Abruptly the light inside the awning came on as Akiko heard the locks disengage. The door swung out and Susie was standing in the doorway, a Colt Manhunter in her hand. The black satin china slippers and tumbled mess of dark curly hair indicated Susie's recent arousal from sleep. Akiko was momentarily struck with the odd dichotomy of the Colt pistol and the innocence of her friend's nightshirt. The nightshirt was wine-colored and scattered with faded pink hearts. _**'Pi Beta Phi, MIT&T Gamma Chapter, Spring Fling Mixer 2046'**_ was silk-screened over the hearts in silvery-blue letters. Akiko sort of grinned and said, **"Hoi, chummer."**

**.**

A huge smile split Susie's face as she said, **"Hoi yourself, stranger!"** She immediately grabbed Akiko in a tight hug only to exclaim, **"Christ, girlfriend, you're soaked!"** Pulling her friend inside the warehouse, Susie raised her empty hand to the two gangers who returned the gesture. Still smiling, Susie turned and fairly skipped back into the warehouse, closing and locking the street door behind. A moment later the awning light went dark.

.

Hunkering down again in the light rain, the two Halloween gang lookouts resumed their vigil and their ruse to appear as squatters. The ork elbowed his companion, nodded to the door Akiko and Susie just entered and said, **"**_**Mmmm**_**...coupla tasties."** His leering grin would have been visible in the darkest night.

.

Glancing at the now closed street door the man said, **"Yeah, but not my type."**

**.**

The ork chuckled, a deep burbling sound. He shrugged and said, **"It's all pink in the dark, chummer."**

**.**

His companion shook his head and said, **"I don't know who the Jap girl is, but she's gotta set of chrome eyes...pure Chiba...tres' expensive. The kinda coin that'd buy eyes like that probbly bought lotsa other chrome as well."** He thought a moment and added, **"And the way she moved: **_**major**_** reflexes."**

**.**

"**And the one with the sweet hoop?"** the ork asked.

.

"**Susie,"** the man said shaking his head again.** "She's dangerous."**

**.**

The ork looked confused. **"Idn't she just Slash's pet mage?"** he asked.

.

The man rolled his eyes at his companion and said, **"Oh my God, don'tcha **_**EVER**_** let her hear you say that. If you're lucky, she'd burn you down right there." **He chuckled and added, **"If you weren't lucky, Slash'd just give you to her and she'd cut you up with that mono-whip she uses."** The man watched as the ork's expression grew fearful at the thought of being sliced to pieces with a monofilament whip. Deciding to keep adding fuel to the fire the man continued, **"Or maybe, after Slash gave you to her, if she was feeling frisky, she'd take you..."** he paused then whispered hoarsely, "_**upstairs**_**."**

**.**

The ork thought about all of the bits of info, rumors, gossip, and innuendo he had heard about this female mage. Eyes wide in the dark as he asked, **"What's she got upstairs?"**

**.**

The man relished the good scare he was giving his friend and said, **"Well, this one time I was riding sweep with Slash, and he hadta come here and speak with the lady herself. So Slash takes me in with him and we climb to the top floor...**_**upstairs**_**."** He paused for dramatic effect then continued, **"She had this whole big room set up like a real live dungeon with whips and chains and stuff. She had this guy on a leash, and she was whippin' the poor dude to death when we came in."** He shook his head and said,** "She was doing **_**other**_** things to him too, chummer...awful things...**_**unnatural**_** things. Even Slash looked kinda sick at what was going on."** He shook his head again. **"An' she didn't even **_**stop**_** while we were there, man! She just kept right on going with this guy and talkin' to Slash about some wizard stuff."** The man shuddered and continued, **"Now make no mistake: she looked hot, standing there all decked out in leather and stuff, but we could tell, she wasn't right in the head, and I mean more than most other magical folks."**

**.**

The ork listened, gape-mouthed. **"Holy shite, " **he said.

.

The man saw his prey was hooked. **"And she had this creepy spirit with her, just smilin' and watchin' her damn near kill that poor dude. It looked like her, only it was a little girl."**

**.**

Almost trembling the ork asked, **"H-h-how did ya' know itsa spirit?"**

**.**

"**Cause first we saw it upstairs, standin' next to her the whole time. And then when we left, it was standin' **_**outside**_** next to the garage door,"** he whispered. ** "Just smiling and waving at us real creepy-like,"** the man whispered, reeling in the ork. He pointed over the ork's shoulder at the warehouse. **"Right over there,"** he hissed.

.

"**Right where?"** the ork whispered, turning to look.

.

The man struggled to keep the grin from his voice as he whispered, **"See that crack next to the roll-up door?"**

**.**

The ork searched the front of the building through the rain; half believing he could already see the creepy little girl man grinned, and hissed, **"Oh my God! Quiet! Don't move, don't move! Is that her by the door!"**

**.**

The ork was panicked, still trying to see through the rain. He froze trembling. **"Where? Where?"** he said.

.

The man reached out, grabbed the ork's neck and screamed, **"BOO!"** The ork yelped, swinging his arms, dropping his Street Sweeper, and falling off the curb into the wet gutter. His laughter echoing off the buildings, the man secured the shotgun. The ork jumped up and took a swing at him, but the man skipped aside. Trying to catch his breath the man said, **"Oh, oh my **_**God**_**, chummer, you shoulda seen your face!"**

**.**

The ork calmed down a bit, sitting back down on the curb in a huff and said, **"Yer a real asshole, ya' know."** The man slapped him on the back and handed him back the shotgun. The ork started to chuckle good-naturedly. The rain shifted to a drizzle again as they turned back to the building. As they did, both of them gasped: standing just outside the street door was a girl in a school skirt, maybe ten years old, with long, curly, beribboned hair. Untouched by the rain, Piru smiled and waved to them before vanishing from sight.


	5. Chapter 3: The Past Tempts Us

Chapter 3: The Past Tempts Us

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.

.

Washing down the last bite with the dregs from his beer mug, Cole leaned back in his chair and tried to fight off a food coma. The remains of a huge meal spread across the small table. Rib bones and used wetnaps were scattered in small piles, along with the half-eaten basket of gravy fries. Real meat still commanded a premium price in the Sixth World, and the meal had cost plenty. Satiated and content, Cole didn't much care; he still had a fair amount of cash from his last security detail, and Gracie's made the best damn ribs west of the Rockies.

.

He absently picked a particularly large piece of meat from between his teeth. Ever since he needed that bridgework to repair his teeth after the chopper crash in '52, something was always getting stuck in the imperfect section. Ready to pay his bill, Cole waved the waitress over. She handed him the credstick reader with a perfunctory smile, but Cole sensed the slight hesitancy most women had with any ork. There was a brief moment of resentment but he pushed it down. Although he was currently the only ork here, Gracie's was famous as a westside orkish favorite. _"She's not going to make it at Gracie's if she can't get over serving orks,"_ he thought a bit nastily.

.

He immediately felt guilty, knowing the waitress couldn't help her visceral reaction. Sometimes even he had a problem reconciling the rough skin, jutting jaw, mild claws, and all of the other assorted things that made him an ork. Even fifteen years after his goblinization, in times of weakness, he considered himself more as a human with an incurable disease, rather than as an ork.

.

He overcompensated for his guilt by giving her a larger tip than usual. Upon retrieving the credstick reader, and seeing the generosity of his tip, she gave him a real smile and a **"Thanks, soldier!"** The extra cash put a spring in her step as she walked away. Cole took a momentary carnal pleasure in watching her backside swivel under the short black skirt as she walked away.

.

With a noise that was part grunt and part groan, he pushed himself back from the single-size table and rose to his full two-meter height. He retrieved his long red-brown fatigue jacket from the back of the chair, settling it over the merc quasi-uniform that had prompted the waitress to call him 'soldier'. He plucked his black felt slouch hat from the table and walked to the exit, stepping lightly and quietly in his heavy boots, a legacy of his training. At the door he donned the hat, centering over his close-cropped hair. As he opened the door, he again caught the waitress' eye. Her cautious smile seemed more genuine now. He gave her a faint smile in return, careful not to show his sharp, pegged teeth. He tugged the brim of his hat, nodding his head as he said, **"Ma'am."** His courtliness and smooth Virginia accent coaxed a twinkle out of her hazel eyes. Unconsciously his grin widened, exposing his teeth. The twinkle vanished, her smile growing more plastic. Sighing, he ventured out into the Seattle night.

.

Cole walked down Belmont to get to the bus stop on East Pine. The rain had stopped, but recently enough that the streets still bore the wet glisten. In the early evening twilight the metroplex bustled with people coming home from work or Christmas shopping. Cole moved through the throng with the easy grace of a dancer...or a trained professional. Right hand surreptitiously placed on the hidden holster of his Skorpion machine-pistol, he wove through the crowd, subconsciously avoiding contact and performing threat assessment. As he dwelled on the reaction of the waitress, he thought that up here in the North, especially such a cosmopolitan place as Seattle would have left those casual prejudices behind. _"And you would think I would be used to it by now,"_ Cole thought.

.

He stood under a plexiglas bus shelter. In a riot of color, the lighted advertisements flickered in a strobe effect, sending confusing signals to his brain as his eyes kept trying to shift from normal vision to the natural thermographic all orks possessed. Closing his eyes, Cole remembered a time when that would not have been an issue...before he changed.

.

With a sharp squeal of brakes and a pungent cloud of petro-exhaust, the bus arrived. The door hissed open and he climbed aboard the aged bus. Swiping his credstick, Cole sat in the last row of seats across the back of the bus. As the bus pulled away from the curb, Cole stared out the window absently watching the garishly lighted streets pass, the tides of metahumanity moving quickly from one bright spot of light to the next.

.

Wishing to recapture his contentment of earlier, Cole tried to shake off his melancholy. _"I need a drink,"_ he thought. Cole briefly considered going out to Ezell's, a Confederate bar and restaurant out in Kirkland. Ezell knew him, giving him the 'cousin' rate on drinks out respect for their shared Virginia heritage. Ezell, like Cole himself, sometimes hungered for his home state and her people. Having a fellow Virginian to talk to, and drink with, tempted him. Ezell and his employees never had that..._look_...around him either.

.

He shook his head: Ezell's would have to be out for tonight. The Troll Killers thrill-kill gang had recently been aggressively expanding their territory beyond Laurelhurst and Wolf Bay. The Troll Killers currently were pushing against the Lake Acids to the south. The altercation with the Lake Acids centered over who had rights to the Evergreen Point Bridge. Lone Star claimed they were putting down the conflict, but nonetheless cautioned citizens to avoid the bridge temporarily, especially after dark. The only easy way to Ezell's was across that bridge, or take a thirty-plus-klick detour up the I-5 around Lake Washington.

.

Crossing Pike Street, the bus drove beneath the said I-5. Several patrons now occupied seats aboard the bus, but none bothered Cole at the rear. As the bus passed over to Ninth, Cole saw The Wooden Shoe. Acting on a whim, he pushed the "Request Stop" button, exiting the bus about a block up from the Wooden Shoe. With every step he felt his dark mood start to lift. He hadn't been in The 'Shoe in what seemed like an age.

.

As Cole passed the threshold into the dimly lighted bar, the remainder of his discontent vaporized. Recorded music played from the back room, and he could see some sporting event on a trideo screen. The Wooden Shoe, a sometime hangout for shadowrunners, was a place he once knew well. The owner, Adam, was an old comrade-in-arms from his time with Desert Wars.

Adam, the ork owner, was tending bar as usual. Looking up as Cole came through the door, he smiled a toothy grin and said, **"As I live and breath! The Captain's returned!"** As Cole plopped down in a stool with a good view of the door, he and Adam firmly shook left hands, both leaning across the bar for a chest bump. Adam served with Cole in Desert Wars and had lost most of his right arm. Even with his payout, Adam had never been able to afford more than a basic mechanical prosthetic. After being disabled, Adam worked at The Wooden Shoe (originally his uncle's place), and had inherited when the uncle had been killed.

.

"**Hey, Adam, how're you doing?"** Cole asked. He looked Adam over, regretfully thinking about how long it had been since he last saw him. Adam seemed to have aged quite a bit since then, his once brown hair mostly gone to grey, his face a bit drawn and hollow. Adam was a natural-born ork, and had a shortened life span according. Most natural-born orks only lived to be about forty-five, being fully mature around twelve or so. Orks that started human and goblinized at late puberty, like Cole himself, retained human-length lives often, into their seventies. Even though he and Cole were almost the same age chronologically, Adam already had grown children, probably even grandchildren by now.

.

Adam drew a tall frosty mug of beer and set it on the bar in front of Cole. Smiling his thanks, Cole raised the mug to his lips. As he did so, Cole noticed his friend looking at him expectantly. **"Something new?"** Cole asked. Adam nodded. Cole took a long swallow of the cold beer and rolled it around in his mouth for a few moments as Adam watched expectantly. Cole gave a smile as he swallowed it and said, **"Pretty good, my friend, pretty good. Your skill puts some of the big boys to shame."** Adam was an amateur brewer, often putting his projects on tap. Sometimes they worked, other times they didn't. Cole drank some more and added, **"You've really improved. If I didn't know better, I would say it wasn't made from soy."**

**.**

"**It ain't made from soy," **Adam said. **"Well not most of it anyways,"** he added, as he shrugged.

.

Cole popped his bushy eyebrows up and said, **"Where did you get enough grain for beer?"** With many crops still suffering from the over-engineering of the twentieth century, soy (and to a lesser extent rice) were by far the only grains grown in vast amounts. Beyond the cereal crops, fruits and vegetables had taken a hit as well, all except for sugar beets. In an odd reversal, real sugar had taken back its heritage from artificial sweeteners, and at the moment half the world seemed awash in sugar.

.

"**Well...it's kind of a story, Cap..."** Adam said.

.

Cole smiled inside: with Adam, it was _always_ a story. His friend was a natural when it came to weaving a yarn, or relating an experience. Adam had entertained the whole company when they served together. It was a shame he had the slightly diminished mental capacity of most natural-born orks or he might have been able to make a living writing stories, or even simsense scripts.

.

Adam continued**, **"**So see, this ex-runner mage come in here one night. He was pretty loaded and allova sudden he started bitchin' about the beer. So I gave him somma my own, and told him I made it. He tried it and said, '**_**That's better, but it still ain't beer. Beer's made from barley, not soy**_**.' So I said '**_**I know that, I ain't no stoop, but ya can't hardly get no barley or wheat or nothing anymore, so quit yer bitchin' and drink it'**_**." **Adam paused to draw Cole another and then continued**, **"**So this mage puffs up, and I thought he was gonna start some drek, so I real careful reached down for the Mossberg, but then the mage just dropped right back down on his stool and, (no shit Cap), he started cryin'!"**

**. **

Cole choked on his beer at that. After a cough or two he said**, **"**Crying?"**

**.**

Adam held up his hand and prosthetic at Cole's look of incredulity. **"Chip-truth, Captain, chip-truth! He was cryin' cause there wasn't no good beer to be had no more."** He and Cole chuckled and then Adam said, "**So I felt bad for 'em, you know, a grown guy cryin' where everybody could see 'em." **Adam shook his head and continued**, **"**So I gave him one on the house, and then he stopped cryin' so much. He got up to leave after that, and I told him, '**_**Buck up, chummer. One of these days, some domehead'll figger out a way to make a lotta barley and wheat grow again and then we can have some decent brew**_**'."**

**.**

Cole make a quick leap of logic and asked,** "So did he make the grains grow, or create them?"**

**.**

Adam's eyes bulged and mouth dropped open in shock."**Howdja know that's what Hal did**?" He then chuckled, shook his head and said,** "But you was always the smart one, Cap. That's why they made you the Captain."**

**.**

Cole felt a fleeting instant of shame at the hero worship in Adam's eyes. He had seen that look many times from other natural-born during both his corporate Desert Wars service, and his time with the Confederate Army Rangers. His orks had often looked to him to figure it out. Brushing aside his discomfort Cole asked**, "So how did he do it, Adam?"**

**.**

Adam looked a little uncomfortable as he said, **"Well, Hal (the mage) tried to explain it to me, but you know I don't get alla that wizard stuff." **Adam shrugged and continued, **"Hal sez he thought up a new spell to change the soy into whatever grain we needed for the beer."**

**.**

"_That's a pretty fair trick,"_ Cole thought**. **A spell like that could potentially make millions, as could cheaper beer and booze made from real grain rather than soy. **"So did you and Hal go into business together?"** he asked.

.

Adam shook his head and said**,** **"Nah, Hal can't change enough soy to grain for that. The spell's real hard. It damn near knocks 'em out, and he needs a spirit of some kind for help. He can only change enough for maybe a coupla hunnert liters a month or so."** Sounding a little deflated Adam said, **"That ain't enough to make it a business. Hal just changes the grain, and I make the brew. I give 'em what he wants, and let 'em drink it free when he comes in. The rest I sell on tap,"** he grinned again and winked, **"or give to my best chummers."**

**.**

A curvaceous but sturdily built ork waitress stepped up to the bar and said, **"Number three needs two more brews, a shot of Aztlan gold, and a Coke."** She noticed Cole sitting at the bar and gave him a toothy smile, and then looked away in what seemed to be embarrassment. He felt a faint stirring of desire at the almost coquettish gesture, something he tried to quash. Even though, physiologically, Cole was an ork, in his mind he often still considered himself fully human. In times like these he struggled against the desire of his body and the preference of his mind. By orkish standards, the young waitress was cute, even pretty, but a _man_ would only sleep with her if he truly loved her...or had an ork fetish.

.

Adam smiled, drew the beers, poured the shot, and spritzed the soft drink. The young ork female nodded in thanks, glanced surreptitiously at Cole, and walked away with the serving tray of drinks, her light brown ponytail swinging. Her hips swiveled nicely under her jeans, and as she bent over to distribute the drinks at table three she inadvertently presented Cole with a spectacular view of her heart-shaped bubble-butt. Struggling again at his visceral reaction he thought, _"From behind, I almost couldn't tell she was an ork."_

_._

Adam watched her fondly, and assumed Cole was too, unaware of his friend's thoughts or reactions. **"Me and Karla are so prouda her, Cap. Our baby girl all grown up,"** Adam said.

.

That comment affected Cole like a bucket of cold water. _"Baby girl?"_ he thought. Clearing his throat uncomfortably Cole said, **"That **_**can't **_**be Trisha."**

**.**

Adam looked at Cole sheepishly and quietly said, **"It's been nearly three years, omae."**

**.**

Cole stared into the bar mirror, trying to reconcile the obviously _mature_...woman before him, with the image in his head of Adam and Karla's youngest child Trisha. Now that he knew who she was, Cole was able to see the little Trisha he knew. The last time he had seen her, she was a very precocious nine-year-old, although she had looked more like twelve or thirteen. He remembered giving her, and all of Adam's kids, piggyback rides, and wrestling around with them. It had been a big joke for them to try and 'ambush' him when he saw them. Now Trisha was a woman, even though her age in years could be no more than the twelve or thirteen she had appeared when last Cole saw her. He watched her a moment more as she moved about the bar, taking orders and casually flirting with the mainly shadowrunner patrons, then shook his head.

.

Luckily, Adam seemed to take no notice of Cole's momentary fascination. He leaned down on the bar and conspiratorially said, **"She smart, smarter than me. She finished a lotta school, Cap. She does my books and works here most nights. Once I'm gone, this place'll be hers."** Adam snorted and said, **"Karla wants her to quit workin' and find a husband, settle down, have some kids."**

**.**

"**And you don't?"** Cole asked.

.

Adam shook hid head vehemently and said, **"What I want for Trisha is whatever **_**Trisha**_** wants."** He paused then continued, **"And right now, she don't want a husband and family, thank God."**

**.**

Cole was surprised at Adams admission, asking, **"Why '**_**thank God'**_**?"**

He struggled to hear as his friend quietly said, **"You know how it would be Cap: livin' her whole life in Redmond, married to some SIN-less yokel grunt, knocked up at thirteen, three litters of kids afore she's sixteen, never gettin' any further than her mom and pop."** Adam saw Cole staring at him and hung his head again as he said, **"I know that's all I ever done, and for me and Karla it was fine. We got no SIN, and we wasn't smart enough to look for more for ourselves. But it sure ain't livin', Cap, you know?"**

**.**

Cole nodded and simply said, **"I know."** But Cole only knew by association, as that was not how he grew up. Adam, and the few other remaining comrades he had from his Desert Wars days, believed he had the same lives they did. Oh they knew he was smarter and spoke better than they did (that's why he was company commander). But none of them knew he had another life once...before.

.

"**But things're lookin' up now, Cap,"** Adam said with a toothy smile. **"The Prez...Haeffner, he said he's gonna make it easier for folks that was born off the grid to get a SIN. All they need is a birth certificate, or some kinda paperwork showin' they were born in a hospital."** Adam's smile turned to a wide grin as he said, **"And Trisha's got that."** Adam popped up his eyebrows at Cole and said, **"You remember how I told you she was born in a hospital?"**

**.**

Remembering the story, Cole nodded. Adam's wife, Karla, had been pretty far along in her pregnancy with Trisha's litter. Not having much access to prenatal care (because she did not possess a System Identification Number), something went wrong with the pregnancy. Bleeding profusely, Karla collapsed inside the then newly opened Redmond Mall with five other children in tow. In a panic at the possible bad publicity if they simply pushed the unconscious ork woman and her screaming children outside, the management called the life squad. Rushed to Redmond General Hospital, Karla gave birth to three children, of whom only Trisha survived. Karla and her children became a fifteen-minute wonder, appearing as a blurb on the Seattle news. That short-lived fame earned Karla free care for her delivery, with Redmond General using her example to collect donations.

.

Interrupting Cole's reminiscing, a group of what could only be shadowrunners walked in, happy, animated and talking loud. They smiled and greeted Adam by name. He returned their greeting with a savage grin and a nod. Abruptly Adam grimaced. He momentarily shook off whatever ailed him and yelled, **"Trish!"**

**.**

His daughter reappeared in the bar area and said, **"Yeah, Pop?"**

**.**

"**Watch the counter for me, willya?"** he asked. Trish nodded and moved behind the bar, taking orders from the new arrivals. Adam leaned over to Cole and quietly asked, **"Canya grab a table and help her keep an eye on things?"** Adam motioned to his daughter with a slight nod of the head and said, **"Not that I'm expectin' it to, but if things get outta control, she's a little squeamish about the scattergun."**

**.**

Cole nodded immediately and said, **"Null sheen**."

.

Adam grimaced slightly again. **"I gotta hit the latrine and the prostate meds ain't helpin' much, ifya know what I mean," **he confided, walking away and vanishing through an _'Employees Only'_ door.

.

Cole sauntered over to a table with a good view of the door and the bar. His back wasn't quite to the wall, but it would probably do for a few minutes until Adam returned. His professional eye didn't see anything amiss with the new crowd, or the other patrons. But while his skills of observation and threat assessment showed him no problems, they also revealed odd behavior on Trish's part. She seemed to banter humorously with the patrons, just like any good waitress should, but her good humor stumbled every time she caught his eye.

.

Before Cole had a chance to explore the ramifications of her behavior, another person walked into the bar. He was an elf; tall with oddly dusky skin, and short black hair that, surprisingly, appeared to be receding. A long dark grey raincoat covered a dark blue suit. Cole's senses and intuition started sounding alarms, this elf screamed 'corporate', and thus did not belong here.

.

His appearance settled over bar area like a wet blanket. He smiled widely at the crowd sitting at the bar, exposing perfect white teeth. After an initial once-over, everyone studiously ignored him. Cole didn't get the impression it was because of personal reasons; rather it was the simpler dislike of the outsider.

.

On custom shoes, the elf glided over to a table, the only table slightly behind Cole. Trisha came over to the table, trying to be smooth and calm, but the change in atmosphere had clearly rattled her. **"Um...uh...wh-what, uh, c-c-can I get you?"** Trisha stammered out to the elf.

.

He stroked his chin idly as if in thought. Gently easing the retaining strap off his Skorpion, Cole watched the elf in the bar mirror. The elf smiled those painfully white teeth again and asked, **"Do you have any Kentucky bourbon, my dear?"**

**.**

Trisha clicked into business mode and asked, **"Real or ersatz?"**

**.**

His smile turned sardonic as he said, **"Real or **_**ersatz**_**?"** Adding a malicious twinkle to his eyes the elf repeated,** "**_**Ersatz?**_** Now, that's an...**_**unusual**_** word for someone like..."** He paused then shrugged, the smile never leaving his face as he said, **"Well...someone like you, my dear."**

**.**

Trisha blushed and became more flustered, her veneer of professionalism shattered. A wave of resentment blossomed in Cole's chest: he refused to stand by and watch as the elf played with her like this. Turning to the elf, he entered the conversation, **"Look, **_**friend**_**: the young lady just wants to know which kind you want, not have you marvel at her vocabulary."** Trisha threw him a grateful, almost worshipful look.

.

The elf turned his attention to Cole. Arching an eyebrow at the ork he said, **"My, my...what an unusual establishment: so many well educated...people."**

**.**

Cole caught the thinly veiled insult but kept his cool. Resisted the brief orkish urge to flatten the elf he said, **"Hey, sarariman, why don't you just choose so the lady can get back to work?"**

**.**

The elf dropped his eyes and said, **"Yes, you are quite right."** He turned his attention back to Trisha and said, **"My apologies, my dear. I believe I'll take a glass of real Jim Beam with ice please."** Cole twitched at the usage of his real name. The elf seemed to notice the twitch, his smile growing broad again. Motioning to Cole the elf said, **"And let me get something for your protector. I believe he prefers Wild Turkey straight up."** Looking slightly confused, Trisha glanced at Cole for acknowledgement. He nodded and she left to get the drinks.

.

Cole sat facing the elf and waited for him to make the first move. Under the ork's intense stare, the elf slowly let his smile creep away. Trisha returned with the drinks, gave the elf his, and placed the Wild Turkey in front of Cole.

.

The elf sipped his bourbon with a slight moue of distaste. **"Not my usual, but adequate for our conversation."** He turned to fully face Cole and asked, **"I hope it won't be too presumptuous of me to join you, Captain, will it?"**

**.**

Cole shrugged and said, **"Whatever you like."**

**.**

The elf loudly dragged his chair over to Cole's table. As everyone at the bar area realized the elf was speaking to Cole, the cold animosity melted away. The shadowrunners understood now: this was business. It might be considered somewhat bad form to bring business into a place like this, but it certainly wasn't anything to get in a twist about.

.

The elf sat across from Cole, his back to the bar. Cole leaned back in his chair, his hand lightly touching the butt of the Skorpion. Moving aside his beer mug, Cole raised the glass of bourbon and inhaled its aroma thinking how long it had been since he indulged in real Wild Turkey. He sipped the bourbon, savoring its smoky bite, looking over the rim of the glass at the elf. As the elf simply stared at him, Cole put down his bourbon and asked, **"So are we going to get this started?"**

**.**

The elf nodded once and said, **"As I am sure you suspect, my name is Johnson."**

**.**

Cole snorted. _"These guys just never change,"_ he thought. **"Well you've already shown you know my name and my favorite bourbon,"** he said. Cole paused, took another sip and said, **"Dazzle me with what else you know about me."**

**.**

The Johnson leaned back in his chair, carefully keeping both manicured hands in view. **"**_**Hmmm**_**,"** he mused. **"What **_**else**_** do I know about you..."** The elf made a show of thinking and said, **"Your full name is Cole James Grayson Colleton Beam."** He gave a faint smile, shook his glass of Jim Beam to rattle the ice and said, **"Only a very distant relation to these Beams." **He paused and said, **"You were born in Richmond, Virginia oldest son of Thaddeus and Delilah. You attended Fishburne Military Academy, went on to graduate cum laude from Virginia Military Institute and accept a commission in the Army of the Confederate States."** The Johnson folded his hands together on the table as he said, **"Shall I go on?"**

**.**

"_Jesus, he knows a lot,"___Cole thought. Though it would have been interesting to see how much of his history the elf knew, and how accurate it was, Cole decided to cut to the point. **"What do you want from me, **_**Johnson**_**,"** he asked, putting as much disdain and insult as he could into the name.

.

His tone didn't seem to bother the elf. He grinned again and said, **"I want to offer you a job, of course, Captain."**

**. **

All business now, Cole asked, **"What's the mission?"**

**.**

"**A simple smash-and-grab,"** the Johnson said as he took another swallow of the liquor.

.

Cole sighed with that statement. Rather than a protection job, it was something illegal. _"Ah, well..."_** "Smash of 'who' and grab of 'what'?"** Cole asked.

.

The elf unlaced his fingers and started to reach in his coat. Cole's reflexes took over. He shoved the table with his foot, forcing the elf back into his seat and trapping the hand. Pulling his Skorpion machine pistol, he leveled it at the elf under the table. With a touch of sarcasm Cole asked,** "You don't do this very often, do you Mr. Johnson?"**

**.**

The noise of the table alerted the group at the bar. One shadowrunner, most likely another merc, asked Cole, **"Is the sarariman bothering you, chummer?"** Cole's trained eye saw members of the group were easing hands into coats or jackets.

.

Cole glanced at the elf Johnson, who was now looking a bit nervous. Deciding unless the elf was a seriously hotshot mage, or had major league back up on the premises, he could handle him.** "Nah."** Cole shrugged and lightheartedly added,** "We just can't agree on whether golf is actually a sport."**

**.**

A couple of the crew chuckled as they all turned back to the bar. Standing behind the bar, Trisha looked worried and scared. Cole suspected she was directly in front of the shotgun under the counter. He smiled and nodded to her. She sighed and slumped a little in relief. Cole then turned his full attention back to the Johnson.

**. **

The elf raised his other hand in a placating gesture and said, **"Yes, I will admit to a certain...learning curve, Captain. I have an envelope for you inside my left jacket pocket."** He motioned to the table and said, **"If you please..."**

**. **

For a brief moment, Cole considered shooting him anyway, but didn't want to commit murder in his comrade's establishment, especially with Trisha watching. Although he knew she had seen plenty living in Redmond, some part of him didn't want her to witness murder at his hand. He eased the table back into place and stashed his gun.

.

The elf slowly withdrew a manila envelope from inside his jacket and placed it on the table. Cole opened it and inspected the contents. Inside was a credstick and several printed pages. Cole absently touched the balance button on the credstick: it read 1000. He skimmed the first page: names and occupations of people. _"These must be the others on the team,"_ Cole thought.

.

He was unfamiliar with Zig and Zag, or Yumi-no-tae. Copper Neon was only a name and a reputation, both of which were good by all accounts. Kill Switch he was somewhat familiar with: he had first met the dwarf on a series of big game hunts in Africa. Recovering from the helicopter crash, Cole worked as protection for various Ares Macrotechnology execs. Kill Switch (who called himself Switch at the time) had organized the hunts. In their time working together, he struck Cole as tolerable but having the potential to be a pretty serious asshole. The last name on the list raised his mental eyebrows: Mistress Susie. He knew of her by reputation as a 'boomstick' mage with a flair for the theatrical. Whenever she was hired for shadowruns, it was accepted that Johnson's didn't care about a high body count or destruction of the surrounding scenery. Below the mage's name were the date, time, and location for the pre-run briefing, tomorrow night at Dante's Inferno.

.

The Johnson interrupted Cole's thoughts as he said, **"I am offering thirty-k: half up front and half on delivery...and most of the research data of which you have a small sample right there."**

.

Cole skimmed the remaining pages. They were copies of older documents from ORO, which was the predecessor of the Aztechnology Corporation. The main subject matter was research of a retrovirus that had been in the late testing stages...for reversing goblinization. Cole nearly dropped the paperwork as his hands began to tremble. **"How...where..."** he stammered.

.

The elf gave Cole a sympathetic look. **"That information and research were found buried deep inside the Aztechnology database. An...associate of mine found it sometime ago, and I have possessed it ever since."**

**.**

Cole looked up at the Johnson and said, **"Why did you sit on this? You could have made millions...billions. Do you know how many people you could have helped? How many orks, ghouls, trolls...Christ look at **_**yourself**_**."**

**. **

A hard gleam appeared in the elf's eyes as he said, **"How little you know of the World Ages." ** The elf sat back in his chair, a sad smile on his face. Vaguely gesturing to the patrons at the bar, and by extension the rest of the world he said,** "When the mana was prevalent in the Fourth World, **_**THIS**_** is what our ancestors were. Once it ended, that part of **_**everyone**_** went to sleep for over five millennia. With the dawn of the Sixth World, everyone became what they truly are."** Touching his chest the elf said, **"This is what I am; why would I want to change what I truly am meant to be."** Cocking his head, the Johnson gave Cole a pitying smile and asked, **"Why would you?**

**."**

Cole struggled to grasp the ramifications of the information in front of him. **"But what about the megacorps? **_**Surely**_** Aztechnology realizes how much cash there would be if they presented a **_**cure**_** for goblinization."**

**.**

The elf shook his head and said, **"You forget: Aztechnology is mostly owned and completely controlled by the blood mages of Aztlan. My...inquiries...into this matter indicate that if large portions of the Awakened have their goblinization reversed, the mana levels will be altered."** He gave Cole another pitying smile as he said,** "No, my friend, the blood mages have no desire to upset the growing mana levels so their magical power is not lessened."**

**.**

Cole sat at the table, the remainder of his Wild Turkey untouched. He looked up at Trisha working behind the bar. If this research was legitimate, she, her father and mother, every ork now living, wouldn't have to die so soon, could live normal lives, as normal people. He could return to his family, his career, and all of the things fate had denied him.

.

Cole sat still, lost in thought, nearly dazed. That such a secret had been kept, (and if the dates on the paperwork were legitimate), had been kept for more than thirty years, was staggering. He turned his head to see the elf looking at him expectantly. **"I'm onboard. I'll be there tomorrow."**

**.**

The Johnson's face broke out into a self-satisfied smile as he said, **"I suspected you would, Captain."** The elf finished his drink and stood. **"Until we meet again,"** he said by way of farewell, dropping some cash nuyen on the table. Shaking out and buttoning his coat, he turned and left into the night.

.

Cole sat thinking a moment, running down a mental list of people he knew that might be able to verify the accuracy of this research report. Lost in thought, he absently slipped the papers back into the envelope and slid it into his jacket pocket along with the credstick. As he walked back to the end of the bar, Trisha came down to meet him.

.

She seemed embarrassed, not wanting to look him directly in the eye. She fumbled about with her hands before simply shoving them on the pockets of her short apron. Cole looked around for Adam, seeing he still wasn't back. ** "You let your dad know I had to take care of some business, and had to take off. Okay?" **he said. She nodded, at last looking up at him. He was surprised to see the glisten of tears in her eyes.

.

She opened her mouth to say something, snapped it shut, and then finally spoke,** "I know my Pop was happy to see you, Captain."**

**.**

Cole sensed something else. His glance flicked to the _'Employees Only'_ door where Adam had gone a few minutes ago. **"He's not well, is he?"** Cole asked. Trisha shook her head, not trusting her voice. The tears she had held back now fell freely and silently. Swallowing a lump in his throat, Cole asked, **"Is he getting to the doctor enough?"**

**.**

Nodding her head, Trisha said, **"As much as he can." **Sniffing back the tears she added**, "He sometimes skips...it's so expensive...and Pop's never been good with money, even with me here now and..."** Trisha trailed off, turning her head away in embarrassment.

.

He fished into his pocket and pulled out the credstick the elf had given him. Holding it out to her Cole said, **"This isn't much, but in a few days, maybe a couple of weeks, once this job is over, I can send more."**

**.**

Trisha reached out tentatively for the credstick, but then withdrew her hand. Cole reached out, gently grasped her hand, and deposited it in her palm. He nodded once and quietly said, **"I'll see you soon, Trisha."**

**.**

She held the credstick a moment, and then embraced Cole tightly. He stood in shock as she wept silently on his shoulder, her trembling body pressed tightly against his. He followed his natural instinct and held her tightly in return. Her hair smelled faintly of fresh flowers.

.

The aroma triggered a sudden flash of memory for Cole: of Trisha and two of her brothers, stalking him with water balloons. The kids had not realized he was standing on the fire escape above them with a whole bucket of water, until he dumped it on them. There had been much screaming and laughter as they then pelted him with the balloons. Their mother had a whole window box of flowers growing on the fire escape, and he had been surrounded with their pleasant perfume as he crouched in ambush. Cole found it difficult to reconcile that laughing girl throwing balloons, with the lush body of the woman he held right now.

.

Pushing down his natural reactions, Cole disengaged from Trisha's tight embrace. She pulled back quickly and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. He smiled slightly and nodded in farewell. She gave a full smile, teeth and all, the remainder of her tears still bright in her eyes. As he turned to leave she quietly said, **"Thank-you...Cole."**

**.**

He nodded once again and turned to exit the bar. Walking to the door, Cole noticed the other merc had observed his tête-à-tête with Trisha. The merc gave Cole a genuine smile and a double 'thumbs-up' as he said, **"Good luck, soldier."**

.

As he walked out into the Seattle night, Cole struggled to contain the pleasure he had felt to hear his name spoken in earnest by a woman, no matter who she was. Cole shrugged and decided it wasn't worth the effort to push aside his pleasure. Although he knew he should be thinking about the 'run, or who could check out the research in his pocket, or what trouble Kill Switch might start, or what damage Mistress Susie might do, he instead found his thoughts on his friend Adam, overlaid with the memory of the sweet, heady scent of fresh flowers.

29


	6. Chapter 4: Abandon All Hope Ye' Who Ente

Chapter 4: Abandon All Hope Ye' Who Enter Here

.

.

After zipping her boots, Susie twisted around at the waist to look in the stand-up mirror and tried to see if the seams on her pantyhose were straight. She completed the complicated evolution of adjustment before stepping into her black vinyl skirt. She pulled on the gleaming, metallic indigo-blue basque, adjusting the buckled straps along both sides until she had achieved her preferred fit. Susie slowly turned once more for the mirror, making sure all of the elements of her clothing were in perfect order. _"Just make-up and hair, and then we can go,"_ she thought.

.

Akiko appeared in the doorway from the bathroom, twisting her hair up into two top-ride tails. **"Are you sure this is the right way to wear my hair?"** she asked Susie.

.

Susie turned from her own contemplation and looked Akiko over. He friend was wearing a fashionable belted white tunic, much like a karate-gi in style and cut. The tunic was trimmed and accented in black with a shimmering black top peeking out at her chest, complimented with loose, shin length black pants, and black synthleather slippers. With her hair pulled up into two short tails at the top, Susie thought she looked too cute for words.** "Absolutely,"** was all Susie said.

.

Yesterday, Akiko allowed Susie to take her from shop to shop for clothing, shoes, and accessories. It was rare for her to purchase any clothing that did not have a utilitarian look and function. Upon Akiko's suggestion to just wear fatigues or some other grunge garments to the pre-run meet at Dante's Inferno, Susie had said, **"If we show up looking like we just came in from Redmond, they are not going to let us in the door and we'll have to let the doormen know we are there for a specific meeting. We need to look like we belong."** Akiko still hadn't been convinced, so Susie had tried a different approach. **"Just think of it as camouflage or a disguise that lets us blend in without revealing ourselves."** That had mollified Akiko somewhat, and though she had still groused a little at the expense, she had been secretly pleased with the frantic day out and about, and the friendship. Neither Akiko nor Susie had grown up with siblings, and both no longer had any living family. Often without realizing it, both yearned for that connection, and fulfilled it with each other when they were together. In a very real way, they were both more like sisters than friends.

.

Susie pushed Akiko into the bathroom. As they stood in front of the very large mirror she said, **"Okay: time for your makeup and hair-color."** Glancing at the various hardcopy printouts of make-up schemes taped to the mirror, Susie gathered her power, concentrated on Akiko, and released her spell. Slowly, Akiko's lips darkened to a rich blue, matching blue and white streaks appeared in her hair, and her fingernails slowly filled in with a silvery color.

.

Akiko watched in the mirror as Susie's spell glamorized her, blended out her skin tone, added trendy designs on her cheeks, and darkened up her eye-sockets so her chrome really stood out. Speaking quietly, so as not to disturb the spell, Akiko asked, **"Can you put my moon symbol on the back of the jacket?"** Susie nodded as she continued to concentrate. Akiko could hear her friend speaking under her breath in some unknown language as she worked her magic, a language full of vowels.

.

Susie let out a pent up breath, and the spell was complete. She cocked her head to one side and twirled her finger in a circle. Akiko understood the gesture and slowly rotated, her arms held out straight. She returned to facing Susie and asked, **"Am I done?"**

**.**

Susie whistled and said, **"You are gonna knock 'em dead, girlfriend!"** She smiled then shooed Akiko away and said, **"All-right, now that I've made you gorgeous, it's my turn."** Susie inhaled and began the same spell again, this time for her, using the mirror for guidance. She saw Akiko fidgeting behind her and said, **"Why don't you go get a drink. You know where my booze is."** Akiko nodded and left the bathroom, leaving Susie to complete her own makeover.

.

On soundless synthleather slippers, Akiko went downstairs into the kitchen. A quick rummage in the fridge revealed some Dark Elf Lager. As Akiko removed the cap, she heard a small voice say, **"Hi, Akiko."**

**. **

Akiko snapped around, the razors clicking from her hand not holding the beer. Standing at the end of the counter was Piru. Feeling a brief moment of shame at being so startled by the spirit, Akiko said, **"Hello, Piru."**

**.**

Piru jumped up to sit on the counter. **"What are you guys doing tonight?"** it asked.

.

Akiko wondered briefly if a free spirit could be compelled to talk, and then decided it would probably take a mage with a level of power she had never seen. **"We have a meeting at Dante's Inferno to meet the rest of the team, and get specifics on the shadowrun," **Akiko said.

.

Piru digested that for a moment. The spirit then smiled brightly and asked, **"Can I come with you?"**

**.**

Akiko was taken aback. She knew that even though Piru was a free spirit, sometimes it followed Susie wherever she went. At other times it was absent for days, doing whatever it was spirits did. Akiko opened her mouth to respond when the telecom rang.

.

On the second ring Susie's voice yelled from upstairs,** "Akiko, can you get that? It's probably King."**

**.**

"**Yes, I will,"** Akiko replied. She walked past Piru to the living room area, and touched several buttons on the side of the trideo screen. Like most people in the Sixth World, Susie had her telecom patched through the trideo. After a second or two of blue screen, King's face and upper torso appeared. Seated behind a desk, deep shadows cloaked his surroundings, shadows too deep for the camera to penetrate.

.

He immediately saw Akiko and bowed from the neck as he said, **"Yumi-no-tae,"** by way of greeting.

.

Akiko sat down on the couch facing the screen. She bowed from the neck as well and said, **"It is good to see you again, Looking-Glass King." **She heard the heels of Susie's boots clacking down the stairs and said, **"Susie is coming."**

**.**

Susie crossed to the couch and sat down next to Akiko, her mage-sword clattering slightly. Susie's hair and make-up were done up in her typical style. She smiled at the trideo and said, **"Hoi, King."** Shifting around on the couch to make the sword a little more comfortable, she asked, **"So have you figured out who our Johnson is?"**

.

King sighed and said, "**No, ladies, I regret to inform you that, so far, the Johnson's identity is still a mystery."** He sighed again in frustration and said, **"Despite my success in dredging up info on the rest of the team, this Johnson seems a ghost, and without more information, is likely to remain so."** Earlier in the day, King had contacted her to transmit short dossiers on the other shadowrunners, giving Susie and Akiko a thumbnail report on everyone: recent 'runs, work history, even images.

.

"**Well, keep looking, I guess"** Susie said.** "I'll call you with more details about the 'run after the meet, and maybe that will give us a clue as to who he is."**

**.**

King nodded again and leaned closer to the video pickup. The lighting on his end glinted off King's silvery-blue Zeiss eyes. **"You ladies please be careful,"** he said. ** "It makes me extremely nervous when a Johnson avoids the fixer and deals direct."**

**.**

"**We'll be fine, King,"** Susie replied.** "We have done this sort of thing before."**

**.**

King nodded and said, **"I know. Even still," **his face filled the screen as he leaned even closer, "**you watch your ass."**

**.**

Susie grinned and said, **"I pay **_**you**_** to watch my ass."**

**.**

A twinkle appeared in King's cybernetic eyes that had nothing to do with the lighting. **"Oh my sweet Susen'ka, never forget,"** His face assumed a leering smile,** "I am **_**always**_** watching **_**your**_** ass."**

**.**

Susie leaned back and crossed her arms. In mock anger she said, **"Then maybe I should be charging you instead of paying you."**

**.**

King chuckled as he leaned back away from the pickup. **"Like I said: watch your six, and give me a call."** The trideo screen jumped back to blue as he disconnected the call from his end.

.

Susie sat for a moment as Akiko drained her beer. **"So can I go too?" **Piru asked from behind them.

.

Akiko and Susie stood up and turned to face Piru. Akiko gave the spirit a once over and said, **"They will not permit a child into the Inferno."**

**.**

Piru smiled enigmatically. Suddenly, the spirit shimmered with a bright azure light, its form shifting. The light vanished, and standing in the place where the child stood was now a young woman. Piru now looked like a late-teen Tabitha, still dressed in a schoolgirl uniform...but not quite as demure as before. The blue plaid skirt was several inches above its knee, exposing white stocking tops, garters, and bare thigh. The tied blouse bared the midriff, exposing a gem-pierced navel and hint of a tattoo vanishing below the skirt. The blouse was also unbuttoned at the top, exposing a lacy, bright red brassiere. The spirit leaned backwards against the wall, lifted a bent leg and placed one high-heeled foot flat against it. Grinning maliciously, Piru produced a large lollipop. As the spirit swirled its tongue around the candy it purred, **"**_**Now**_** will they let me in?"**

**.**

"**Godamnit, Piru!"** Susie barked.** "How many times have I told you not to take that form?** **I would never take you anywhere looking like that."** Susie took a deep breath to control her exasperation, sighed and said, **"And it doesn't matter what form you take anyway: Dante's Inferno has magical wards to keep out astral travelers, including spirits."**

**.**

Piru pouted and promptly returned to its previous little girl shape. It vanished, leaving behind only its disembodied voice, **"I **_**NEVER**_** get to have **_**ANY**_** fun!"**

**.**

Akiko turned to look at her friend, one ebony eyebrow arched. The spirit was nearly identical to the lone Silly Jilly miniature Susie kept in a display case just a few feet away. Early in their friendship, Akiko noticed the single miniature and assumed Susie collected the small risqué statues. Shortly thereafter, she purchased Susie one of the out of production miniatures for her friend's birthday, knowing that friends sometime gave gifts on special occasions. Susie's reaction was very odd: she thanked Akiko and perfunctorily accepted the 'Jilly (a miniature French maid in one of the more rare suggestive poses), but did not display it with her other one. Vaguely hurt by the exchange, Akiko never bought Susie another, and shortly thereafter the Detroit fiasco occurred. When Susie snuck back into Seattle for her possessions, she did not take the maid figure, but _had_ managed to retrieve the schoolgirl. Clearly the figure held some sort of personal value beyond its obvious collectability. In the intervening years, Akiko tried to discover the significance of the statue, but her friend deftly brushed aside the inquiries or prevaricated, and Akiko's cultural training to not pry too deeply into another's business overrode her curiosity.

.

Susie sighed again, much more heavily this time, and said, "**Come on, let's go before it comes back and has a tantrum."** Susie grabbed her blue electric shades and a synthleather motorcycle jacket, and then she and Akiko followed the stairs down to the ground floor loading dock.

.

Once there, Susie hit the garage door opener. As the ancient garage door rattled open, Susie hiked up her skirt and settled herself on her Messerschmitt A200 Arktis racing bike, dropping it off the stand and firing it up. As Akiko climbed on to ride pillion, Susie slipped her shades across her eyes and twisted in a pair of earbuds.

Akiko leaned down and linked her arms around her friend's waist, the scent of Susie's perfume, Luxuria, surrounding her. She heard a faint hint of music from the earbuds and asked, **"Who are you listening to?"**

**.**

Pulling on gloves Susie said, **"Thuringian-Forrest Group."** She extended the tiny player and asked, **"Wanna listen too?"**

**.**

Akiko took the player and fitted the male end into her chipjack. The fast beat and heavy multi-tonal harmonies of Thuringian-Forrest Group's masterpiece, _Ritterkreuz,_ filled her brain. Akiko looked forward over Susie's shoulder and said, **"The rain has stopped."**

**.**

Switching on the headlight, Susie grinned and said, **"Then it is **_**definitely**_** time to go."** She blipped the throttle, then revved up the engine, leaning forward across the fuel tank as they sped away up the street. With the garage door closing noisily behind them, Akiko waved to the Halloween gang lookouts that still sat between the two burned out cars.

.

They roared up First Avenue, crossing over to Fourth on Royal, just in front of the dark Safeco Field. The Mariners proved to be disappointing once again this year. With the TFG pumping through their ears, Susie rolled on the throttle, weaving the Messerschmitt in and out of the traffic on northbound Fourth Avenue. The bike passed under the monorail track, crossing into the true Downtown District. As they streaked along parallel to the Renraku Arcology, the ninth largest building in the world, Akiko's augmented eyes caught their reflection in the silvery-green mirror coating of the glass walls. They were going fast enough Akiko doubted she would have seen the reflection as more than a blur without her eyes.

.

With Susie leaning the Arktis way over, they took the turn off Spring Street, southbound onto Fifth. In less than a block the dark marble bulk of the Supreme Court building appeared on their left, and the glowing multi-storied structure of Dante's Inferno on the right.

.

Slowing to a more sedate speed, Susie pulled up to the motorcycle rack across the street, paying the Dante's valet to lock it down. Akiko disengaged the player from her chipjack and passed it back to Susie, cutting off the music mid-song. As she and Susie got off the racing bike, Akiko could hear the thumping beat of the club music, the throbbing pulse of Downtown Seattle. Susie handed the bike over to the valet who rolled it into the rack and locked it securely. After locking down the Arktis, the valet service punched the stoplight controls to allow them to cross the street safely.

.

As Susie and Akiko crossed the street they could see a long line of prospective clubbers that awaited their chance to gain admittance. Perhaps one hundred people were strung out on the ramp that terminated at the entrance. Two enormous trolls stood before the crimson velvet rope, judging each prospective patron's suitability. They were a curious pair: both shaved bald, one dark skinned wearing a perfectly tailored white suit, his horns bleached and polished to a gleaming white. The other wore a glistening black suit, his skin nearly albino, his horns a deep burnished ebony.

.

Susie and Akiko started up the broad stair to bypass the line. Susie stopped halfway up and asked Akiko, **"Do you see anyone from the team in the crowd?"**

**.**

Akiko scanned the milling line, searching the faces and comparing them to the downloaded images sent them earlier today by King. None of the faces immediately jumped out at her. As she eliminated many due to body and racial type and looked again, she marked one possible subject. Akiko slightly nodded at the crowd and said, **"See the Vietnamese woman in the gold skirt and red top?"**

**.**

Susie scanned the crowd herself. Standing alone, the woman in question was nearly to the front of the line, perhaps a dozen feet back. Two datajacks in her right temple and a chipjack cluster behind her right ear flashed as she turned to lean against the wall. She was wearing a liquid-gold lame skirt and metallic red sequined blouse in the very latest style, interwoven with subtle fiber optic lighting. Chartreuse and pink glittered from her hair and face, bold and trendy in the ultra-modern Nova style, her shoes and accessories very chic, giving the viewer a whole ensemble that appeared (and was) very expensive. If the young woman acted confident once she reached the front of the line, the two troll gatekeepers would definitely let her into the club.

.

Susie held onto Akiko's shoulder as she flipped her senses to the astral to look at the attractive Asian woman. Barring powerful magical masking, sensing on the astral allowed Susie to see everything as it truly was. Beneath the stylish clothing and gravity-defying bosom, the woman in question had a great deal of cyberware...she was also physically (superficially at least) still a man.

.

That fit the description King had sent of their decker, Copper Neon: a Vietnamese transsexual, known to have an excellent taste for the absolute latest styles and most expensive clothing. Just to make sure, Susie ascensed the rest of the crowd quickly: there were no others hiding their true sex with magic or (like Copper Neon) with physical devices, although several in the crowd had been surgically altered to appear more elven. Susie brought herself out of the astral, smiled and said, **"She's our girl."**

**.**

By now, Susie and Akiko had caught the attention of the front end of the crowd, having stood on club's the broad concrete steps in full view, obviously looking for someone. Susie linked arms with Akiko and strutted over to where Copper Neon stood in line. Holding out her free hand, Susie said, **"Neon, sweetie, you're with us."**

**.**

Neon hadn't paid much attention as the two women had crossed the street, just another pair of would-be devotes of Dante's Inferno. But once the Anglo and Japanese woman stood on the steps, looking over the crowd obviously searching for someone, Neon took notice. She wasn't quite sure what to think when the two women then walked right up to her and the Anglo woman called her by name. Thinking the paranoid worst, Neon almost panicked, but quickly recovered. She had no knowledge of who the Japanese woman with the Chiba eyes was, but assumed she might be the unknown Yumi-no-tae. The smiling Anglo decked out in S&M clothing wearing a sword matched the description she had for Mistress Susie, the mage on the team. Neon's pink frosted lips turned up in a hesitant smile as she asked, **"Are you Susie?"**

**.**

The Anglo woman smiled even wider and said, **"Of course, who else would I be?"** Exposing her ruby painted nails, Susie gave a 'come-hither' motion with her hand and asked, **"Are you coming with us or not, sweetie?"**

**.**

Neon tentatively reached out and placed her hand in Susie's. The mage immediately linked arms with Neon as well and said, **"Ladies, let's get inside...I need a drink."** The three quickly climbed the final few steps, walking past the twenty people that had been standing in line ahead of Neon. In an almost continuous exhale, faux smoke drifted from the doorway, illuminated by gigantic holo-flame braziers flanking the arch. Like a distant heartbeat, the throb of the dance music and the faint undercurrent sound of the club crowd could be heard from within.

.

The two trolls stepped in front of them before they could reach the door. Neon was certain the doormen would not let them in as she had jumped line, and Susie and her friend never got in it in the first place. The dark skinned troll in the white suit gave them a once over, not even an ogle in the proper sense, just a quick professional surface inspection: a pair of Asian girls, one dressed to kill in red and gold, the other in quasi martial arts digs with pure Chiba eyes, flanking an Anglo mage-girl in the center dressed like de Sade's wet dream...and all three bold as hell to jump the line. The three women smiled at him, one hesitant and sweet, one sly and amused, and one questioningly suggestive.

.

He cocked his head a moment, as if to study them from a different angle, and then smiled a large toothy grin. Much to the consternation of the assembled crowd of waiting club-goers, the troll unhooked the velvet rope and waved them through with a hearty, **"Welcome to the Inferno, ladies."** Disengaging her arm from Akiko, Susie blew him a kiss as the three walked into the artificially smoky foyer. He turned to watch them go, enjoying the view as their backsides swiveled nicely under their clothes.

.

Before retaking Akiko's arm, Susie flipped her shades up on her head, as the foyer was much darker than the well-lighted entrance. She preferred to not use the low-light feature of the glasses unless necessary. Susie disengaged her arms from Neon and Akiko, but still held their hands, leading them inside. While shifting her grip, Susie noticed Neon's stylish pastel chartreuse fingernails and facial artwork glowed softly. They neared a turn in the hallway as strobing lights and lasers reflected off the haze of special effects fog. The music was much louder. All three recognized the song as "Neuromancer" by Burning Chrome. Susie moved faster down the hall, almost dragging Neon along. Akiko felt Susie's change in speed and kept up well.

.

They came around the corner. A large open doorway greeted them, beyond which dozens of people could be seen moving to the Burning Chrome dance hit across a clear glass dance floor. The entire top of the doorway was a large horned demon skull with an artfully tattered sign reading 'Dante's Inferno'. Worked into the lintel below the sign a banner read, "_Abandon all hope, ye who enter here_."

.

"**I'm buying the first round,"** Susie said. Knowing what Akiko drank, Susie glanced over at Neon and asked, **"What'll it be, Neon?"**

**.**

Susie's two-color eyes startled Neon. After a moment of thought and recovery she replied, **"A zombie."**

**.**

"**I'll grab us a table,"** Akiko said as she started to slip through the crowd.

.

Susie yelled after her, **"Make sure it's next to the floor!"** Akiko gave a thumb's up as she dove into the press, her silvery nails and chrome eyes kaleidoscopically reflecting the lightshow. Susie turned to Neon and said, **"Let's hit the bar."**

**.**

They rushed into the room and maneuvered to the bar before the song ended. The male bartender, shaved bald, had neo-tribal designs interwoven between the several jacks scattered artfully around his head. He had so many Susie suspected most were fake. Once the two women squeezed their way to the bar he said, **"What can I getcha, ladies?"**

**.**

Wraithlike, Akiko moved through the crowd, avoiding contact when she could. She amped up her reflexes at the last moment to snag a small table before a crowd of young urbanites could sit down. They were about to protest until they saw her eyes. Akiko smile faintly at them and waggled her missing pinkie: the mark of the yakuza. Not wanting any trouble, the group made a quick fade. Akiko sat down, waiting for Susie and their new...acquaintance...to return from the bar. She could see them now: Neon stood casual as she sipped a huge yellow-orange drink with an umbrella in it. Susie had just turned away with two drinks from the bartender.

.

Akiko looked around the club as she waited, only having been in the Inferno once before. The nightclub was nine circular levels of glass dance floors, each with its own bar, tables, music, decor, and clientele. Each circle was connected by ramps to the others, although it was well known that the further down one went, the more bouncers and doormen would appear to preserve the exclusivity. Down below the Ninth Circle resided the 'Hell' level of private party and meeting rooms. The street door entered at the Fifth Circle, the circle of wrath and anger. Pillars supported the circle above, carved demons with upraised hands, horns and spreading bat-like wings.

.

Abruptly "Neuromancer" ended with its trademark virtuoso flourish. Before the final echoes faded, the next song began with a single voice holding a long haunting note. Akiko was uncertain of the song, until a moment later guitars and synths matched the still resonating voice: "Into the Shadows" by Concrete Dreams. The crowd went wild and many that had been sitting jumped up to the dance floor. Akiko felt the pulse of the music try to take her, cajole her, draw her out on the dance floor with the others.

.

Suddenly, Susie sat down next to her and placed a very dirty martini with three olives on the table for Akiko. Susie held an absinthe, already a quarter finished. Neon primly sat down as well and contentedly sipped the giant tropical concoction in her slim, manicured hands.

.

"**How much more time do we have?"** Susie asked between sips.

.

Akiko checked her internal clock and said, **"Not much longer...less than fifteen minutes."** She looked around the circular room, Susie and Neon doing the same as they silently consumed their drinks. With most of the crowd on the dance floor, they had a good view of the tables, entrance and bar. Near the entrance a tall ork was doing the same, scanning the scene. In his fatigues and wide-brimmed black hat he looked out of place.

.

"**Smile for the soldier, ladies,"** Susie said as they caught the ork scoping. Akiko, Susie, and Neon each gave him a sweet smile. He noticed their observation of him, and touched the brim of his hat in acknowledgement as he smiled in return. The ork turned away and drifted over to the outer ramp that led to the levels below.

.

Akiko recognized the ork from the files King had provided. Before she could speak, Neon confirmed her assumption saying, **"I think that ork was the Captain...uh, I mean Cole, the merc on the team."** Akiko and Susie turned to Neon, Susie with her eyebrow arched in question. Neon blushed as she looked down into her drink and said, **"I only joined the team this morning, so I spent the day researching as many of the others as I could."**

**.**

Susie gave a faint smile as she reached out and patted Neon's hand. **"That's OK, sweetie. We did the same,"** Susie said.

.

"Into the Shadows" ended, and another song began. Deep drums started booming from the speakers, followed by an animalistic screeching and wailing that gave the impression of a battle cry. Akiko did not immediately recognize the tune, but Susie did. Promptly downing what remained of her absinthe, Susie closed her eyes and began to sway in her seat to the music. After a moment she said, **"I love this song!"** Neon hummed in agreement as she moved in unison with Susie.

.

The song seemed familiar but she couldn't place its compelling beat. **"Who is it?"** Akiko asked.

.

Susie snapped around, opened her two-color eyes and rolled them dramatically at Akiko as she said, **"Kingsfoil. "None Shall Pass"."** Akiko gave no sign of recognition. Susie _tsked_ and said, **"From **_**The Dark of Khazad-Dum**_**. Triple-platinum disk from last year."**

.

Akiko nodded as she placed the band, song, and disk in her memory. She saw the dance floor crowd was moving in unison to the music as holo images and lasers skittered across the room. Akiko scanned the entrance for more members of the team arriving.

.

Reaching out and grabbing Akiko's hand, Susie said, **"Come on, let's dance this one."**

**.**

"**There is very little time before we need to go," **Akiko said.

.

Susie stood up, not releasing her friend's hand. She gave Akiko a brilliant smile and said, **"Come **_**on**_**: we have time for **_**one**_** dance before the biz."**

**.**

Akiko gave Susie a small smile in return, and gave her acquiescence by standing up. Susie turned to Neon, grabbed her hand, gave her the same sparkling smile and said, **"You too. Come on."**

**.**

Reluctantly, Neon allowed the mage to pull to her up on her feet. She looked apprehensively at the crowd as they moved towards it and hesitantly said, **"I don't know. Dancing up close in a crowd, everyone pressed tight. Sometimes they can...tell the difference...you know...about me."** Neon looked genuinely frightened. **"It sometimes doesn't end well when they figure it out,"** she added quietly.

.

As Susie pushed Akiko and Neon ahead of her to the dance floor, she leaned down and whispered into Neon's ear, **"Then you can stay between us."**

**.**

A rich cloud of perfume surrounded her as Susie whispered in Neon's ear. As she breathed in the scent, Neon felt a brief blip of masculine desire, and a momentary painful tightening of her gaff. That surprised her as she had been on female hormone treatment for over a year. _"Susie must be wearing Luxuria...how the hell can she afford that?"_ Neon thought. Luxuria was terribly expensive, comparable to the Joy Parfum of the twentieth century. It was supposedly made with some sort of female pheromones, and legend had it maybe even magically enhanced. Neon shook off the effect, as the three women dived into the undulating crowd and allowed the energy of the music and dance to possess them.

Cole checked his timepiece: less than ten minutes to the meet. He had entered Dante's Inferno with just a few minutes to spare. The troll doormen had refused him entry until Cole had informed them he had a meeting in Private Room 5. They had called inside to verify rather than simply let him in, leaving him waiting out front. Eventually, they grudgingly told Cole that he could go in at a quarter until eight. He had never been inside the Inferno and found the design and architecture impressive, the decor decadently over the top, and the music loud and nova-hot. Cole briefly considered getting a drink, but decided to wait until after the biz.

.

He had scanned the Fifth Circle room as he entered, trying to find any other members of the shadowrun team. When the tables had cleared for some Concrete Dreams dance song, he had seen what could be none other than Mistress Susie and Copper Neon sitting together at a table with another Asian chica. _"Perhaps the mysterious Yumi-no-tae,"_ Cole thought. They had seen him scoping. All three girls turned to him at the same time and gave him a smile. He touched the brim of his hat and smiled back. Cole sauntered away, yet still kept them and the door under observation. When the women jumped up and hit the dance floor, Cole decided to make his way down to the meet.

.

He descended past the next four Circles. As he moved down the ramp, the entrance to each successive Circle had a new set of doormen and camera bubbles in the ceiling. Every successive level had slightly different decor, different music styles, and a more exclusive clientele. Each set of doormen gave him sidelong glances as he passed. From the glimpses he got of each room, Cole suspected that his attire (and by extension he) would not be welcome in any of the other Circles. At the Eighth and Ninth Circles he noticed that an elevator carried club goers up from somewhere below. _"There must be a parking garage beneath the building,"_ Cole thought.

.

As he rounded the last curve, Cole noticed the light had slowly grown brighter and was now at almost normal levels. At the end of the last curve, a set of heavy double doors and a trio of doormen awaited: one troll, an ork, and a full human. These guards bore similarities to those above, the tightly controlled movements of the troll and ork hinted at heavily augmented muscles and reflexes. The full human had the air of disdain and superiority Cole usually associated with the magically aware, his lack of tribal accessories making him most likely a mage. All three were dressed in loose-fitting corporate chic, jackets open.

.

Cole held out his hands as they motioned him over. Beneath another camera dome the ork patted him down, making note of the machine pistol and bayonet Cole carried. **"I have a meeting in room five at 20:00 hours,"** Cole said as he submitted to the search.

.

The ork nodded to the troll and mage, both of who relaxed slightly. Opening one of the double doors, the ork said to Cole, **"Second door on the right."** Cole touched the brim of his hat and went inside.

.

Before the door could close behind him the ork said, **"Don't go nowhere else."** The ork jerked his head toward the ceiling and added,** "Yer bein' watched."**

**.**

As the door closed silently behind him, Cole nodded and said, **"So ka," **in understanding. The well-lit hallway was expensively bland with beige carpet and off-white walls and trim. The hallway extended to the left and right equally, terminating in a corner at each end with another camera dome in the ceiling. The metal doors, of which he saw three in each direction, bore paint in a shade that complimented the carpet. He marched to the door marked with a numeral '5' plaque and entered the room.

.

Inside it was outfitted like a mid-level corporate meeting room: a large trideo screen on the opposite wall, long macroplast table with six plush rolling chairs, three on each side, and one at the end opposite the screen. The table appeared to be the standard business holoprojector style. A short credenza of the same material with a water carafe and glasses on top adorned the left wall, and a bathroom behind a single open door on the right. Cole had seen enough of these rooms to walk through one blindfolded and not touch a single piece of furniture. The trideo screen currently showed the hallway, giving Cole a view of his own backside standing in the open doorway.

.

Only one seat in the room was occupied. A male dwarf sat furthest from the door in one of the side chairs: Kill Switch, the team's rigger. Although his head was hooked up to a small simsense console, Cole judged by the dwarf's movements that he was playing some sort of game. The dwarf waved off-handedly and said, **"Hey...just let me finish this level."**

**.**

Cole dredged his memory and scrounged up some of the Afrikaans he painstakingly learned from his time with Kill Switch on safari. **"Haai, Switch! Hoe gaan dit met jou?"**

**.**

A broad grin split the dwarf's beard at hearing his native tongue. He unplugged from the simsense and said, **"Aweh, Cole! Goed, dankie. Met jou?"**

**.**

Cole gave Kill Switch a nod and replied, **"Jawelnofine,"** meaning 'just fine'. He sauntered over to sit opposite the dwarf and said, **"So it's 'Kill Switch' now, eh?"**

**.**

The dwarf's eyes hardened. In the slightly guttural, clipped English of a native Afrikaner he said, **"Well, things change, Cole."** Kill Switch gave him a bit of a sideways look and said,** "It's been awhile since I saw you. What was it, '52?"**

**.**

Cole nodded and said. **"Yep, early '52. After the chopper crash I sat out the rest of the season and ran security for the Ares suits."**

**.**

"**Ah, yeah. Those fairy sararimen sure needed lotsa extra guns on safari,"** Kill Switch said a bit nastily.

.

Cole inhaled to respond, but a flash of movement on the trideo screen interrupted his thought. Two men came down the hallway and opened the door; both dressed in a casual blend of street and corporate fashion. _"__They__ probably got past the doormen much easier than I did,"_ the ork thought. As they entered the room, Cole was unable to stop from staring: these men looked identical in a blandly handsome way. Both were nearly as tall as Cole's two meters, and broad across the chest. Although their movements indicated some bodyware, nothing was visible save each had a small chipjack just behind the right ear. Both carried tumblers full of what appeared to be gin and tonics. The men nodded silently in perfect unison, taking the two chairs on Kill Switch's side of the table. As the two new arrivals sat down, setting their full tumblers on the table, Kill Switch nodded to them and plugged back into his simsense game. _"Zig and Zag,"_ thought Cole.

.

Without a regular fixer or information broker, Cole's contacts had unearthed only basic facts about the other team members. Zig and Zag were partners, one never being without the other. Very little was known about their origin, but it was surmised Zig and Zag were former corporate goons. It was known that they had been surgically altered to appear identical, but no one seemed to know if one had chosen to look like the other, or if both had chosen the blonde, clean shaven, body-builder look. Something about their chosen appearance nagged at Cole. As he surreptitiously studied them, a realization came with a start. _"They look__** exactly**__ like that beefcake guy on the bodice-ripper simsense covers,"_ he thought.

.

More movement on the screen drew Cole's attention as the ladies arrived. Susie and Neon appeared to be chattering animatedly as the second Asian girl, who Cole decided must be Yumi-no-tae, spoke only occasionally. All heads turned as the door opened letting in the cloud of pleasant feminine noise...all save Kill Switch's.

.

Placing a tall day-glo yellow drink with an umbrella on the table, Neon sat at the end, directly opposite the trideo screen. Susie sat next to her at the corner, shifting her mage-sword around while holding a glass full of some cloudy green cocktail. Yumi-no-tae next between Cole and Susie, hands folded on the tabletop, her chrome eyes unreadable. Filing the info for later, Cole noted the missing pinkie tip, indicating that, (at least at one time); Yumi-no-tae had connections with the yakuza. Kill Switch unplugged his game again and turned to the screen. Eyes flat with disdain, the dwarf gave one quick glance to the new arrivals. Kill Switch muttered something in Afrikaans Cole barely heard, something that sounded like, **"Loskind poeslap."** Cole had no idea what 'loskind' meant, but was surprised at 'poeslap'. It was a virulent Afrikaner epithet for a woman that loosely translated as 'cunt-rag'.

.

The screen went an even darker black for a moment and gave out a tone to secure the team's attention. Everyone turned to the screen as an image of the elven Johnson replaced the blackness. He sat behind some sort of desk, the features of the room around him dark, shadowy, and nondescript. He smiled slightly and said, **"Thank-you one and all for coming. I must apologize for my absence: something came up that required me to be elsewhere. I do hope you all took advantage of the hospitality of Dante's before you came downstairs. If you did not, it has been arranged for all of you to enjoy the club after our business here is concluded."** The Johnson waited a beat then said, **"Well, on to business, shall we?"**

**.**

At that moment, a small portion of the tabletop slowly slid back in front of Copper Neon, revealing a cavity. **"Miss Neon,"** the elf said, **"if you would be so kind as to distribute those envelopes: they are notated as to the owners."**

**. **

Neon lifted the collection of manila envelopes, her chartreuse-tipped fingers quickly flipping through them until she plucked out her own. She passed the bundle around the table, starting with Zig (or Zag) as the Johnson continued, **"Contained in each is a certified credstick for the up-front amount agreed upon, and a chip containing the data particulars of the job**."

.

Everyone at the table opened the envelopes and dropped out the chip and credstick, those with chipjacks slotting the chip. The image of the elf disappeared from the screen although his voice remained. An image of a large warehouse-style building appeared with several small satellite buildings, all surrounded by a low wall and gated guardhouse. **"What you see here,"** the Johnson's voice said, **"is the central storage facility for Seattle University, located on the former grounds of the old Community College."** The image flipped to a three-dimensional computer generated architect's drawing, rotated to an aerial view, and then zoomed down to the main large building. **"Contained herein is your target: a certain crate, recently of Egyptian origin."** A second photo image of a large crate on a shipping dock appeared. The crate was wood, that unusual in the Sixth World, perhaps a little over two meters long, just over one meter high, and one meter wide. **"This package will arrive in forty-eight hours at the storage facility,"** the elf's voice continued.** "Before it is processed by the University research personnel, I wish it taken and delivered to me."**

**.**

"**What's inside?"** Kill Switch asked.

.

"**At the moment that is of no concern to any of you. I want the crate and its contents delivered unmolested,"** the elf said. The images on the trideo screen shifted again, this time into a large cube truck with the 'Value Moving Company' logo on the sides. **"This vehicle is being provided by me,"** the Johnson continued. ** "It is the same make and model of the ones used by this moving company, that company being the one contracted most often by Seattle University to transport their larger items to and from storage."** The elf paused then added offhandedly,** "An exact copy of the company logo and appropriate uniforms are also being provided for the male members of the team." **

**.**

Susie leaned forward and said, **"Isn't this team a little...heavy for something like this?"**

**.**

The image of the crate reappeared as the voice said, **"Indeed it may be. But I believe in being thorough, my dear. With a 'heavy' team like this, the success is that much more assured."** The elf's voice paused and then said, **"You **_**must**_** secure this item on the day it arrives. Some University researchers are taking advantage of the school's winter holiday, but some are not. Those still at the school **_**may**_** take possession the following morning, and that cannot be allowed to happen."**

**.**

"**I don't think that will be a problem,"** Cole said. **"We **_**are**_** professionals, Mr. Johnson."** He gave a toothy grin and said,** "You need it out on a specific day: we get it out on a specific day."**

**.**

"**I am afraid that is not the entire issue, Captain,"** the elf said in an apologetic tone. **"As I indicated at the start of our conversation, I am encountering a bit of a...scheduling problem currently myself. Once the item is procured...unless this other business changes, I cannot take receipt of it for five days after that."**

**.**

That statement set off a blizzard of murmurs and one explosive outburst from Kill Switch, **"Five days! What the hell are we supposed to do with the damned thing for five extra days!"**

**.**

The image of the Johnson reappeared. The elf raised his hand to quiet the group down. Once everyone had quieted he crossed his arms and said, **"Surely one of you has a secure location until I can take delivery."**

**. **

A heavy silence fell across the room. Cole shook his head and snorted as he said, **"You really **_**don't**_** do this very often, do you Mr. Johnson."**

**.**

Wherever the elf was, he leaned back in his chair and said, **"These sorts of details are what I am paying so much money for, Captain. I am sorry, but at this juncture I simply cannot receive the package any earlier."** He looked around the room at each member of the team and said, **"If this presents too great a difficulty, we can consider our business arrangement complete, I will cancel those credsticks and I will employ others for this task."**

**.**

Everyone looked around uncomfortably. The elf watched their mental deliberations and smiled widely, his piercingly white teeth flashing. **"Very good, team. I trust that you will make some sort of arrangements." **He winked at them and said, **"After all: you **_**are**_** professionals."** Producing a tumbler full of amber liquor and ice, he shook it at them in salute and said, **"You may use this room until the club closes. If you finish before they close, please do enjoy the club after you're finished with the room. As I said earlier, it has all been arranged. See you all in a week." **The trideo screen went black.

.

The room was silent after the screen went dark. Cole folded his hands on the table, waited a beat, and then said, **"Okay, I don't have anything more than my apartment. Who's got an extra doss where we can sit on this thing?"**

**. **

Zig and Zag shook their identical heads, followed by Neon. **"I have just returned to Seattle,"** Yumi-no-tae said, glancing at Susie. Noticing the look, Cole mentally raised his eyebrows, realizing the two women knew each other.

.

Susie leaned forward and said, **"I don't have an extra place, per se."**

**.**

"**Well then why bring it up,"** Kill Switch said sharply.

.

Susie gave the dwarf a sharp look and continued,** "Like I said: I don't have an extra place right now, but my fixer came up with a pretty good idea for...scamming a safe house."** She shrugged and added,** "It might work in this situation."**

**.**

"**What's the scam?"** Cole asked.

.

Susie finished off the remainder of her cocktail and said, **"With a little creativity we could...arrange...to hide out in an unfinished house in a new housing complex."**

**.**

"**Really, howzat?"** Kill Switch asked.

.

Susie leaned back in her chair and said, **"He figured with the right fake delivery orders, possibly a mage with the right magic, the right truck and crew...and most shadowrun teams could appear to be movers delivering furniture, or setting things up for a real estate agent."**

**.**

"_That could actually work,"___Cole thought. A moving or delivery truck in a partially completed housing complex wouldn't look too out of place. The truck could vanish, and the driver hides out somewhere else, with the package and the rest of the team safely hidden.

.

Kill Switch started clapping his hands slowly as he said, **"Yeah that sounds like a **_**great**_** plan." **

**. **

Fire blossoming in her two-color eyes, Susie turned on him and said, **"What exactly is your problem with me?"**

**.**

Kill Switch stopped clapping, returning the fire in her eyes with malice from his own. **"Aren't you the same Susie that the Grinning Boy was boning?"** He gave a wry little grin and added, **"Well, you know, before he was skagged."**

**.**

Susie's stare grew more intense as she said, **"**_**He**_** belonged to **_**me**_**, and wore my collar proudly."**

.

Kill Switch dismissively waved away her clarification and said, **"That's not exactly how I heard the story told."**

**.**

"**Would you like to...**_**experience**_**...the reality first-hand?" **Susie asked in a low voice. Cole noticed her odd two-color eyes almost sparkled and a slight flush crept across her pale skin. With a half-smile she added, **"I have perfect small spare box for you...upstairs."** Yumi-no-tae gently laid a hand on the mage's arm.

.

Kill Switch waved her away again and said, **"Nah, no thanks, honey. Once I was finished knocking the bottom outta that, you wouldn't be able to walk right for a week, and this 'run goes down in two." **He snapped his fingers and pointed at Susie. ** "But if you **_**are**_** the Grinning Boy's ex-chica, then that makes you the same Susie that touched off that radiation accident in Detroit?"** he more stated than asked. Susie and her friend shared a fleeting glance but sat silent.** "Yeah, that's what I thought." **Kill Switch ground his teeth, motioned with his bearded chin and growled, **"You and your Jap girlfriend there are part of the Detroit Wrecking Crew!"**

**.**

There was a quick intake of breath from Neon. Cole turned to look at the two women and asked with admiration, **"That was you guys?"**

**.**

"**Of course it was them,"** Kill Switch growled. **"I wouldn't be wrong about somebody that cost me and my family almost a million nuyen!"** Kill Switch stood on his chair, pointed a short thick finger at Susie and said, **"And I couldn't mistake those freaky two-color eyes on that stukkie..."**

**.**

"**Hey, now," **Cole interrupted at the Afrikaans word 'stukkie', it being a very vulgar word that meant whore or slut. **"Come on, chummer: there's no need for that, Switch."**

**.**

"**Let him come,"** Susie said as she pushed back her chair and stood. Cole saw she now had a short cylinder in her right hand. **"**_Monofilament whip,"_ he thought. _"My God, in a room this size she might slice us all to pieces!"_

_._

Her friend reached out again, touching Susie's arm. Susie looked down at her as Yumi-no-tae nodded at Kill Switch. **"Remember what we know,"** she said. Susie glared one more time at the dwarf, and sat down in a huff.

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Kill Switch grinned and said, **"Yeah, that's what I thought."**

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Cole looked around the table and added, **"Look, folks...we need to work together on this 'run."**

**.**

Kill Switch calmed down a little at Cole's admonition and sat down as well, his smile that of the contented cat. Susie glared at the dwarf a moment more and said, **"Cole is right: bickering about past sins gets us nowhere."** She thought for a moment and added, **"I'll call my fixer and have him see if he can find a safehouse setup for us."**

**.**

For the first time, Zig (or Zag) spoke, **"You will need to go back into the hallway near the Ninth Level: no phones except those provided by the club work down on this level."** Susie nodded and stalked from the room without a word or glance behind.

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"**Neon,"** Cole asked, **"could you bring up the building plans and target info on the table?" ** Neon nodded and got to work, pulling out her own Johnson-provided chip to slot it in the controls at the head of the table. She fumbled it at first as her hands were shaking slightly. Neon pulled out a cable from the console and inserted it into one of the jacks in her temple. After a moment the table surface began to glow as her fingers danced across the controls. Abruptly a hologram of the building's structural drawings projected in the air above the tabletop, overlaid with a security diagram of the walls and guard post. Unable to sit still and think, Cole stood and paced as he studied the layout.

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The door abruptly reopened to readmit Susie. As she sat back down, Susie glanced once at the hologram of the depository. Everyone looked at her askance. She leaned back in her chair and said, **"My fixer has the info on the 'run, the specs on the truck and package. He'll get back to me tonight or tomorrow at the latest."**

**.**

Cole nodded, then turned his attention back to the display. He pointed to the entry gate with the guardhouse and said, **"This is our only way in or out without going overland. I'm more concerned about us being able to leave than arrive."** Cole glanced about the room and asked, **"Any thoughts on alternative exits?"** The question started the babble of competing ideas as the plan began to take shape.

59


	7. Chapter 5: What We Do Best

I'm glad you have all continued reading my story. Any comments, questions, suggestions or constructive criticism is always appreciated. Thanks again for taking the time to read it.

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Chapter 5: What We Do Best

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Faces blank and unreadable behind smoke colored glasses, Zig and Zag stood holding retaining straps against the bumping and swaying of the truck. Sound- suppressed AK-97 assault rifles held at the ready, their identical cybernetic eyes stared impassively through the grey polycarbonate at the interior of the Hyundai moving truck, their identical grey armored trench coats flapped slightly with each movement.

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Fidgeting with her cyberdeck, Copper Neon sat on a heavy plastic tote containing Cole's extra gear and big weapons, nervously playing with the ponytail that peeked out from beneath her Seattle Mariners ball cap. With her ebony hair pulled back, the chipjack cluster behind her right ear sat exposed, glinting in the low light. Neon suddenly looked up self-consciously and dropped her hair, worried if anyone was watching her. Slipping her deck back into its case and setting behind the tote, she hoped once again that the 'run would go smoothly. A moment later Neon was unable to conceal her nervousness, yet instead of reaching for her hair, began fiddling with the Ruger pistol holstered to her thigh.

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Neon felt a bit like a fish out of water. It was unusual for any decker to have to accompany the team into the 'run in the flesh. A decker performed most of her work from a safe location, hacking systems, sleazing security and alarms, erasing security recordings, and preventing computerized lockdowns of facilities. This shadowrun was different: the system at the warehouse where the crate waited was ancient, dating from before the big 2029 crash. With the Community College closing shortly thereafter, the system was left in its antique state and never been connected to the main Matrix grid. While most of her job would be to prevent any alarm from getting out, part of her duties also included making any records of their team or the crate having arrived vanish. To have her complete her part of the job, Neon had to come along and jack into the actual system onsite. She glanced over at Susie and watched as the mage checked her gear. Neon was surprised to see that Susie's shadowrunning gear looked like a subtly armored version of what she wore to Dante's Inferno the night before last.

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Susie sat on the box of cargo straps, whispering in Gaelic as she activated some of her magical focuses. Checking the retaining strap on her Colt Manhunter, she then rechecked the slim wire from her Ingram smart-gun to the connector on her custom electronic shades. Making sure the shake-holster for her monofilament whip was functioning properly, she then leaned back against the inside wall of the truck. Susie noticed Neon nervously fidgeting and gave her a half-smile and a wink. _"I hope she doesn't flake out on us when the lead starts flying,"_ Susie thought.

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Ten minutes ago they had crossed over the Aurora Avenue Bridge from the Greenwood subdivision into Downtown Seattle proper, riding down the I-5. Over the whine of the electric motors of the Hyundai truck, they could hear the sounds of the early evening traffic. Taking a wide turn as the truck exited the old freeway, the team appreciated the skill with which Kill Switch expertly wove the ungainly vehicle through the press. Past twilight, night was nearly upon them. Arriving during the tag end of rush hour was part of the plan: the night shift posted fewer guards hopefully the traffic would hamper and Lone Star ground response time. Even if Lone Star tried to arrive by air, the warehouse was close enough to the departure lanes from Sea-Tac airport to interfere with manned and unmanned flight.

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The sound of the road surface changed as the van turned onto the West Seattle Bridge and crossed over the Duwamish Waterway: the tag end of the Duwamish and Green Rivers. Passing over the tip of Harbor Island, they were a scant four klicks from the target.

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Susie stood and checked her timepiece as the truck slowed down and exited the bridge viaduct: they were right on schedule. She looked out through one of the peepholes to see the growing darkness covering the middle-class neighborhood along Dawson Street. Yesterday at the empty house in Greenwood, Kill Switch had installed three concealed peepholes in the cargo cube to let the hidden team members see out. Initially he was simply going to install tiny cameras and video screens, but Susie reminded him that if her magic was necessary from inside the truck, she needed actual optical glass rather than electronic viewing to use her spells. Without actually being able to see her target (electronic images would not work), her magic would be useless. Kill Switch had grumbled quite a bit in his native Afrikaans, but nonetheless nodded in understanding and did as she asked, putting in optical glass peepholes. As Susie stared out she caught sight of the tree-lined edge of the remains of Puget Park. As Susie watched the western side of the park pass she thought, _"Akiko should be in place by now."_

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Akiko stopped the Messerschmitt Arktis at the beginning of the park's verge, pulling into the safety lane. Chiba eyes clicking from normal, to low light, to thermal, she quickly glanced around for any signs of observation and determined that for the moment she appeared to be alone. She wound the bike back up and cut across the berm, then up the slight rise into the woods.

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She and Cole had scouted this area yesterday, looking for a likely spot cover the zone of action. Though the Arktis was no off-road bike, Akiko had no problem riding up the slope to the sniper's position she and Cole constructed yesterday. Shutting off the bike and rocking it back onto its stand, Akiko opened the attached rifle scabbard and withdrew the Remington 950. Cole would have preferred her to have a better rifle, but on such short notice, and with the availability of funds, the scoped Remington would have to do.

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Akiko sat at the makeshift shooting seat Cole fabricated for her and snuggled the rifle onto the shooter's bag. She checked the scope and action and secured the long suppressor to the end of the barrel. Akiko chambered the first round, then dropped the magazine, topped it off and reinserted it. With a familiar ease, she slotted a skill chip for the rifle. Akiko had a moment of disorientation as her cyber-enhanced reflexes and neurowires immediately downloaded the appropriate skills to give her a somewhat better skill with the unfamiliar rifle. Clicking her eyes to low light, she looked above the scope and studied the expanse of the old school, focusing on the loading dock just over ninety meters away. Far in the distance, at nearly five hundred meters, sat the guard shack. Its lights burned in the distance, illuminating the low wall and the traffic control arm. Akiko called up and locked the time display in her eyes. Abruptly she saw movement at the guard shack. Akiko flipped her eyes to normal and clicked off the rifle's safety as she sighted through the scope: their faux Value Movers van was at the gate.

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Cole feigned nonchalance as they turned into the driveway for the university storage site. The omnipresent whine of the truck's electric motors dropped in pitch as they slowed to a stop at the guard shack, bumper a mere inches away from the red and white striped security arm. He glanced surreptitiously in both directions at the low antique poured concrete wall that surrounded the former campus. _"We won't be able to crash that wall in this Korean shit-box,"___Cole thought.

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A grey uniformed guard leaned in Kill Switch's window, only to cluck his tongue and shake his head as he realized the cables coming out of the dash jacked into Kill Switch's head. With an amiable smile, the guard walked around to Cole's side of the truck and said, **"Kinda late aren'tcha?"**

**.**

Cole smiled back ruefully and said, **"Fraggin' I-5 traffic...ya' know how it is, chummer."**

**.**

The guard nodded his agreement and asked, **"What're you here to pick up?"**

Cole made a show of flipping through some bogus paperwork on his clipboard. He quietly cursed for effect as he pretended to search for the proper bill of lading. **"Uh...some kinda...drums and uh...coupla boxes,"** he replied.

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The guard pulled a hand-held from his belt and said, **"Lemme check it from our end."**

**.**

Cole held his breath as he tried to look bored. Last night Neon had hacked the Seattle University system and placed a fake work order to have Value Movers pick up some sample drums of kraken flesh and two boxes of Polynesian artifacts from storage. Right after, she then set up a trap on Value Mover's system to intercept any calls from the university about the bogus pick up. From the time they had left the safehouse, no one had called about the fake order. Hopefully, no overzealous school employee had questioned or cancelled it from their end.

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The guard seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time checking. Cole eased the retaining strap off his Skorpion and lightly kicked Kill Switch. The dwarf rigger flickered an eyelid in response to the ork's signal, and readied to wind up the truck's engine to smash the barrier if necessary. Per the plan, Kill Switch quickly flashed the interior cargo light twice to warn the team members in the cargo area that there might be trouble.

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Finally, the guard finished checking his hand-held. **"You're on the schedule,"** he said as the hand-held spat out a short slip of printed paper. **"Here's the stuff you need to get, "** the guard continued as he passed the slip to Cole.** "Just give it to the guys up there and they'll help you."**

**.**

Cole grinned and nodded as he took the paper and said, **"Thanks, chief."** The guard stepped out of the way and waved the truck through as the barrier arm swung up to admit them. Kill Switch pulled the truck through as Cole casually waved to the other guard still in the shack. The truck bumped and clanked as it rode over the automated traffic control spikes known as 'tiger teeth'.

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Kill Switch drove down the service road away from the guard shack and main road. Out of the twilight gloom rose a large concrete and steel structure. Originally constructed as a classroom building, it now housed the items Seattle University did not have the room (or desire) to store on their downtown campus. The darkening sky flickered with faint lightning, ghostly in the twilight. Scant seconds after the lightning followed a slow roll of distant thunder, announcing the long anticipated rain. As the light rain began to fall, Cole cast an offhand glance at the low ridge running parallel to the service road, hoping Yumi-no-tae (whose name she told him was Akiko) was in her position.

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The dim lighting on the outside of the warehouse revealed a large roll up door flanked on each side by a conventional door. By the time the slow moving truck arrived at the end of the service road, the large roll up door was just finishing its upward travel. Kill Switch drove the truck inside, the door reversing above and behind them. He toggled the light in the cargo area again, long off and then back on, just to make sure the remainder of the crew was ready.

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Two more guards stood inside the building: one at the door controls, the second standing back until the truck came to a stop. Past the large turn-around area just inside the door, long rows of heavy-duty pallet racking stretched into the dark distance of the building. Directly ahead of the truck was a small, well lighted, plexiglas office room, facing both the doors and the inside of the warehouse. Cole could see a medium-sized trideo inside, tuned to Monday Night Football. The commentator, Bart 'Death Vader' Wozniak, the first ork to play in the IFL, was pontificating on the screen. _"Probably bitching about the Rules Change of '45 again,"_ Cole thought.

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As Cole exited the truck, dropping lightly to the concrete floor, he partially unzipped his Value Moving Company jacket to provide better access to the hidden combat axe he carried. The second guard stepped forward with a friendly smile, his hand out for the slip provided by the gate guard. Before he could speak, the first guard walked over and interrupted. **"Hey, Ethan, you got this?"** he asked.

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Ethan, the second guard standing in front of Cole, nodded and replied, **"Sure, null sheen, Joe."**

**.**

Joe grinned as he jandered toward the office and said, **"Many thanks, my omae. I don't wanna miss any of the action. I gotta twenty ridin' on the 'Hawks."**

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As Joe the football fan walked around the back of the truck, Kill Switch disengaged the maglock on the truck's cargo door. The dwarf hoped someone in the back was smart enough to be looking out of one of the peepholes to scope the situation. The info provided by the Johnson had revealed only one guard stationed in the warehouse, not two. _"Maybe the extra came inside to watch the game,"_ Kill Switch thought.

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Cole handed the guard his list with one hand, casually reaching into his jacket with the other. Not expecting trouble, or not particularly observant, the guard's attention stayed focused on the list. Cole had heard the maglock release, and prepared for the hidden members of the team to prevent Joe the football fan from getting past the truck.

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Abruptly the truck's cargo door rolled up with a crash, and both guards jumped in surprise. Cole activated his cyber-augmented muscles as he swept out his axe. The broad flat of the axe smashed upside his guard's head, sending a red spray of blood across the side of the truck, and a small rain of teeth to the concrete floor. The guard crumpled, falling partially underneath the truck, either unconscious or dead.

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Thunderstruck into silence, Joe the sports fan struggled to pull his weapon and grab his radio at the same time, succeeding in neither task. One of the twins' assault rifles let out three muffled barks, quieter than normal but still loud in the confines of the building. Two crimson blooms sprouted in Joe's chest, followed instantly by the back of his head erupting into a red-grey splattering mess.

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Cole hoped the sound of the suppressed rounds didn't travel as far as the guard shack. He checked his man, noting the guard was still alive, although his jaw was broken and dislocated, and he lost most of his teeth. Standing back up he turned to the twins and asked, **"Did you have to kill him?"**

**.**

Zig and Zag quickly dropped to the floor of the warehouse, followed by Susie and Neon. Both men looked Cole's victim up and down and then one said, **"Yours probably won't survive without a Doc Wagon." **

**.**

Cole jerked his head to the office and said, **"Neon, find what we need so we can get out of here."** Neon nodded and dashed over to the office, Susie right behind.

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Sitting at the computer, Neon hooked up a gold-tipped cable from her head to the cyberdeck, and then from the deck to the computer. Neon's body went relatively limp as her consciousness followed the fiber optic lines inside the system. Susie grabbed at the decker's shoulder to prevent her from falling out of the cheap office chair, but Neon recovered an instant later and sat up straight. Eyes hollow and wide with the typical 'decker stare, her fingers danced over the cyberdeck's keyboard as she finessed her way into the antique system.

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Kill Switch disengaged himself from the truck's controls and jumped down. Control cable dangling from his right temple, the dwarf trotted to the forklift and climbed inside. Quickly attaching a generic adapter to the forklift's dash, he slotted his cable and started it up. Kill Switch backed it out of its slot, and then stopped short with a growled, **"Eish, gefok**." Leaning out of the cab he asked, **"Cole, can you unhook the charging cable?"**

**.**

Cole unplugged the large battery charging cable for Kill Switch, allowing the forklift to finish backing out. Heels and magesword clattering, Susie dashed out of the office clutching a piece of paper in her hand. She handed it to Kill Switch and said, "**Neon says this is the shelf location of the package and its crate number."**

**. **

Kill Switch snatched the paper with a grunt and read the information. He swung the forklift around and drove out into the warehouse in search of the package. Susie returned to the office as Zig and Zag covered the doors. Cole grabbed his smart helmet, Ares machinegun, and gyro mount harness out of his heavy tote. He took off the jacket and buckled the articulated weapon harness around his torso. Covering the gyro mount with his jacket, Cole stashed the MG and helmet on the floor of the cabin.

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In less than two minutes the forklift came rolling back to the truck. Aloft on its forks was a large wooden crate with painted lettering in English and what looked to be Arabic. The crate was perched, but not strapped to, a large plastic shipping pallet. Both of the twins jumped up inside the truck as Kill Switch eased in the crate, pushing it as far forward as possible with the forklift.

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As Zig and Zag made the crate secure with the cargo straps, Cole gingerly pulled his wounded man out of the truck's path, leaving a crimson smear on the concrete floor. Kill Switch parked the forklift back in its slot, plugged in the battery, and leapt back up into the truck. He reinserted his control cables, started up the truck, and turned it around. Cole checked his timepiece: still less than five minutes since they rolled into the building. _"Pretty good so far,"_ he thought.

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As the rain began to fall, Akiko watched through the riflescope as their bogus moving van pulled inside the warehouse. She traversed around to the guard shack to look for trouble but found none: the two guards near the street seemed at ease. Akiko, grateful she was under cover from the rain, returned to covering the front of the warehouse.

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Her enhanced hearing caught the abrupt faint sounds of gunfire from the building: three pops in close succession followed by silence. _"One of the twins' AK's,"_ she noted professionally. Akiko panned back out to the guard shack. The men still seemed at ease, huddled away from the rain inside the bright lights of the shack. Neither of them appeared to be agitated, much less panicking. She swung the rifle back to the warehouse door.

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As Akiko sat covering the doors, the wind blew harder from the southeast, bringing a heavier rainfall. Over the spatter of the steady rain Akiko thought she heard an out of place sound on the wind. Turning up her augmented hearing, Akiko rotated her head back and forth and tried to orient herself on the unusual noise. After a moment she honed in on the noise: straight to the southeast, right into the storm, she heard a low, steady _thwap-thwap-thwap-thwap. _Akiko felt a moment of fear as she recognized the sound.

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She immediately looked up and scanned the sky to the southeast. It took her a moment of searching to see it, but find it she did. A large, dark colored helicopter was flying up fast, just below the roiling ceiling of rain clouds. Akiko wondered how the pilot was even able to take off in the rain, much less fly. It flew with no running lights or spotlight, so it couldn't be law enforcement. So stealthy had been its approach, the chopper took only a moment to reach the warehouse. It hovered at about five hundred feet, nearly silent but that was unsurprising. The old U.S. Army had worked out the technology for 'whisper mode' back in the teens.

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Abruptly, dark colored objects began falling out of both sides of the helicopter. The shapes blossomed into parachutes so quickly after clearing the side door that they must have had an assist. Akiko stared in wonder and admiration, as she had never heard of someone skydiving from a helicopter so low to the ground. _"They must have specialized B.A.S.E. jumping rigs,"_ she thought. Eight man-sized figures dropped away from the chopper: two landing on the roof of the building, six on the service road near front of the building, their urban combat fatigues barely visible against the dark ground. All eight detached their chutes even as they readied weapons, the six on the service road advancing on the building. Akiko mentally castigated herself at her team's critical error: she had no radio to contact them and tell them of the danger. Snapping out of her surprise, she clicked her vision to thermal, drew the rifle in tight, and took careful aim at one of the intruders creeping up the service road. Akiko tried to let the skill software do its job as she held her breath, took up the slack in the trigger, and fired.

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Cole stuck his head into the office. The computer screen in front of Neon ran lightning fast with code, falling from top to bottom in a green-hued cascade. He shook his head slightly at the display and asked, **"Are you ladies about done?"**

**.**

The code on the screen abruptly vanished only to be replaced by an image of a blazing, copper-colored, Barbie-doll shaped girl. The glamorously beautiful image wore a lacy, metallic copper pinafore, its flaming golden-blonde hair held back with a large copper hair ribbon. The female figure bent at the waist, one leg extended to rearward like a ballerina, allowing the face to fill the screen. The exquisite face bore a resemblance to Neon's own. The face winked at Cole and in a breathy, sultry version of Neon's voice said, **"I'm almost there, Captain. Just give me another ten seconds."**

**.**

Cole snorted in amusement as he nodded. He exited the office just as he saw Neon body twitch, her consciousness returned to the material world. Zig and Zag were already on board in the back of the truck, the package secured down. Kill Switch started up the truck as Susie and Neon walked out of the office. Cole looked at Neon and raised his eyebrows questioningly. As Susie boosted the Vietnamese woman up into the truck Neon said, **"We're good. No record left of the crate ever being here, along with every other item to arrive for the entire year. And all of the camera recordings of us in this system are gone and replaced as well."**

**.**

Cole grunted in approval, trying not to stare at Susie's backside as she hoisted herself into the truck. A slight whiff of perfume still hung in the air where she had passed. As Cole caught the faint wisp of fragrance he felt a stir of desire. He shook it off and thought, **"**_Who wears perfume on a 'run?"_ He glanced up to see Susie watching him watch her. She winked, gave him a half-smile, and then closed the cargo door. Cole shook his head again and walked to the overhead door controls, thinking he would never understand any of the magically aware.

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As Cole was about to press the door button, he heard the muffled report of a single gunshot from outside. His hand froze in the process of hitting the door button as he cocked his head to listen for more gunfire, not completely sure he had heard it. Kill Switch saw him hesitate and blipped the truck's horn. Cole turned to the truck and scowled, waving at Kill Switch in a peremptory fashion that left no room for misunderstanding: shut up and wait a moment.

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He heard the flattened crack again, immediately followed by automatic fire. Cole leapt into action, running to the pair of conventional doors and throwing their deadbolts, glad that the building was ancient enough to not have pass-coded maglocks. With the ubiquity of electronic tools to defeat maglocks, sometimes a good old-fashioned key-type deadbolt did the trick better. As he locked the doors Cole could hear more gunfire from outside, his professional ear picking up at least four distinct weapons, plus what he assumed was Akiko's rifle. The volume of fire was enough that Kill Switch had heard it as well: company had arrived.

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Kill Switch backed up the truck as far as he could, to get a running start at the door when it opened. Cole ran to the back and pounded on the cargo door, which promptly rolled up. Zig or Zag was holding the handle of the door as Neon and Susie looked up in surprise. **"Akiko is exchanging gunfire with someone outside,"** Cole said grimly.

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"**How many?"** the twins asked in unison

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Cole stripped off his jacket to free up his gyro mount: stealth was no longer an option. **"I heard at least four distinct automatic weapons, plus Akiko's rifle giving suppressing fire,"** he replied.

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As Susie moved to the back of the cargo area she said, **"Then it's not those clods from the gate."**

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"**Is it Lone Star?"** Neon asked quietly.

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Cole shook his head in the negative and said, **"I doubt it. The 'Star would already be blaring out orders to '**_**Stand down, Citizen**_**' through loudspeakers. All I heard were the gunshots."** They all shared knowing looks: if it wasn't local security or law enforcement, then the new arrivals were after their cargo.

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Neon stashed her cyberdeck and cowered next to the large crate they had stolen, but drew her Ruger and checked the action. The twins locked the cargo door in the upright position even as they unfolded the wire stocks of their AK-97's. Susie stepped to the rear of the cargo area and grasped a holding strap. Even through the electronic shades, Cole could see her odd two-color eyes glowing with an unholy light that somehow matched the feral smile on her crimson lips. Cole moved to the cabin and retrieved his Ares machinegun, mounted it to the gyro harness and checked the operation for kinks. Attaching the double drum of ammo, he cycled the action to load the first round.

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"**Are you sure we need that?" **Kill Switch asked. His voice had the odd tone of a vehicle-connected rigger.

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Cole secured his smart helmet atop his head, connecting the control wires from the helmet to his machinegun. As he turned on the heads-up display the ork replied, **"I'd rather just give 'em a little grazing fire as a distraction and get the hell outta Dodge."**

**.**

Kill Switch gave a flat noise that Cole interpreted as a snort. **"Let me know how that works. With that Irish witch on board we'll be lucky to get out without her blowing up the whole damn building,"** the dwarf replied.

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"**Look: I'm going to open the garage door and lay down some fire,"** Cole said to Kill Switch. **"Just keep the passenger door open for me and I'll jump on as you come by."** Cole dashed around the open area quickly as an idea formed more fully in his mind. Turning off all of the lights in the small office and the warehouse, Cole flipped his helmet to low light, making sure he activated the flare compensators. He bent low next to the door controls for cover and lifted his machinegun. Cole took a few deep breaths to pump more oxygen into his system, and hit the _'Open'_ button.

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Akiko cracked off another round and moved again. The noise suppressor on the Remington did not have anything to hide the flash, and the new team had zeroed in on her position quickly, forcing her to abandon her original sniper's perch. Akiko had jazzed her reflexes to the maximum and committed to a running battle, dashing about the low ridge and getting off shots when she could and hoping her team would come out soon. Akiko knew she had hit three of the interlopers, but had failed to make any of the shots fatal. She felt some mild relief when she saw the roll-up door start to open.

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Her relief turned to pleasure when she saw the raiders finally noticed that the door was opening. Two of them continued to exchange gunfire with her as the other four spread out to flank the opening door. The two on the roof were crouched on the edge, their submachine guns aimed downward. Inside the door opening it was completely dark, even to her thermal vision.

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As soon as the door was waist high, a tongue of yellow-orange flame jetted out from the darkness. With a huge cloth ripping sound, Cole's machinegun blasted out at the second team. Without cover, the closest four immediately dropped to the ground and tried avoid the volume of fire from Cole. The two still shooting at Akiko crouched down and began to converge on the warehouse, judging her the lesser threat. Behind the heat bloom of the machine gun, Akiko saw the headlights of the truck come on from within the warehouse. She quickly made her way back to the sniper's perch to take some final shots.

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Cole relished the familiar shudder of his Ares as it spat rounds at the competing team. He saw the four nearest the door hit the ground, trying to take what cover they could. Cole gave them another burst to reinforce that wisdom as he heard Kill Switch rev up the truck and come as fast as he could, trying to eke out more power. The Hyundai Urban Mover won no awards for quick acceleration or high speeds.

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Cole heard rounds from the raiders patter against the cinderblock walls, one whizzing past and nearly hitting him in the shoulder. He shifted slightly and fired again, walking the rounds across the pavement, into the grass, and across the helmeted head of the man that nearly scored on him. In the pale yellow glow of the exterior building lights, Cole saw most of the man's brain explode across the wet grass, the body flopping once before laying still. _"One down,"_ he thought grimly.

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The truck, still struggling to accelerate, was just now passing him. Cole ran next to it for a moment, reached out and grabbed the passenger side handhold with one hand even as he hosed fire at the two attackers on his right. As Cole heaved himself into his seat, he heard the gunfire from the third attacker hit the other side of the truck, several rounds sparking underneath the truck and across the service road. Cole assumed the guy was aiming at the tires or wheels. He flipped his helmet to thermographic and saw the two thugs that had been shooting at Akiko running toward the bend in the service road, their bodies crouched down low as they ran, the gunfire heat blooms of their heavier assault rifles lancing out at the front of the truck.

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Susie stood holding the hand strap as the truck accelerated out of the warehouse. She instinctively ducked back as bullets from one of the attackers briefly stitched across the driver's side of the cargo area. Zig (Susie could tell them apart: they had different auras) leaned out of the side of the truck and gave a couple of quick bursts at the one firing at the side of the truck.

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The sounds of exterior gunfire against the truck continued, with a few rounds puncturing the roof of the truck. Still standing in the doorway, Zig suddenly reeled and nearly lost his footing as he took a couple of rounds from above. Zag reached out and snatched him back from falling out of the truck, pushing him down to the floor. As Zig leaned against the wall, Zag turned and fired a long burst up and behind them. Susie looked up to follow the shots and saw two raiders on the roof behind them. One jerked and fell sideways, the other shrinking further down behind the lip of the roof. Grinning maliciously, Susie gathered her power.

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She began to speak in Irish Gaelic, using it as a centering ritual to help her resist the drain of the spell. Susie's glowing right hand dipped into her jacket pocket and pulled out a disposable focus to add power to her spell: a large black marble. She clenched her glowing right hand into an iridescent fist around the marble, stared up at the unwounded raider on the roof, and released her spell.

.

A coruscating vortex of white, blue, and violet energy sprang from her hand like a comet. With a heavy _whoosh_-sound the sparkling front of the comet streaked out to the wall of the warehouse, just below the raiders' perch. Daylight briefly returned as the comet detonated loudly against the concrete in a blinding flash of energy, vaporizing part of the wall and a fair amount of the unwounded assailant. His submachinegun, blown high up into the air, glowed eerily as it fell to the ground amidst the chunks of broken concrete. Zig and Zag laughed in victory with Zag adding **"Now **_**THAT's**_** what I'm talkin' about!"**

**.**

The truck slewed around as it hit the bend in the road, throwing the unrestrained passengers to the side. A massive volume of gunfire came from outside as the two raiders formerly trying to pin down Akiko now attempted to disable the truck. Rounds scattered and ricocheted they tried to shoot out the tires and damage the running gear behind the wheels. A multitude of sparks flew from the pavement and fresh holes appeared in the body of the truck, followed by a double low boom as the tires blew out. With its run-flat tires the truck did not slow from the damage, although it did immediately slow as Kill Switch veered away from the gunmen, off the road into the wet grass.

.

Cole saw what the two gunmen were trying to do. Almost without thought he popped open the door, grabbed the 'shit-handle' and stepped out onto the passenger side step. His machinegun spoke again with a roaring jet of flame nearly a foot long as he poured on the fire and emptied the drums into the pursuers. Not agile enough to dodge the machinegun fire, the two gunmen dropped to the wet ground, their bodies writhing as Cole's rounds tore into them, shredding armor, clothing, and flesh in equal amounts.

.

Kill Switch whooped loudly as Cole sat back down and removed the hot and smoking ammo drum. **"That's the way to give 'em the old 'Road Warrior'!"** Cole didn't get the reference and looked blankly at the dwarf. Seeing the ork's expression Kill Switch clucked his tongue and said, **"C'mon, you know, Mad Max...the Road Warrior...when he stepped out on the side tank and blew that guy away."** Cole shrugged, still not sure what the Hell the rigger was babbling about. **"It was an old two-dee, back before the Awakening, its a classic! They remade it in '33 but it sucked."** Kill Switch could tell Cole had no idea what he was talking about. Grumbling the dwarf added quietly, **"Friggin' heathen..."**

**.**

As the truck bobbed and jumped over the uneven ground, Susie crossed over to Zig to check his injury. Zag had changed out his empty magazine and opened fire at two of the men running across the field behind them. The men began to run in a side-to-side motion to foil Zag's aim even as they continued to fire at the truck. A few rounds plinked into the rear bumper and at least two actually hit the crate, but none touched the occupants. Susie saw blood high up on Zig's collarbone, and could see several more holes in his armor across his chest. She flipped to the astral and ascensed his wounds and found only the one at the collarbone: the other bullets had not penetrated his torso armor. She began to gather her power to heal him, but he grabbed her hand and said, **"Save it for later. I just got the wind knocked out of me."** Susie nodded.

.

Abruptly the truck jumped violently, actually coming up off the rear wheels and landing heavily. Neon shrieked as Zag nearly fell out of the truck, barely able to grab hold of strap. Knocked off her knees and landing on her butt Susie asked, **"What the Hell did we drive over?"** Susie asked.

.

"**I don't know! I didn't see anything," **Zag replied.

.

They felt the truck slow down even as the motors' pitch whined higher, straining ineffectually to push the truck faster. With a flash of inspiration Susie flipped again to the astral and saw a spirit dragging on the bottom of the truck, a thin line of power coming out from the spirit and leading off into the sky. Following that sliver she now saw the helicopter: the power was emanating from inside the chopper. With another wrench on the truck reminding her of the situation, Susie flipped back to the real world and yelled to Neon, **"Tell Cole I think we have a spirit trying to slow us down!"**

**.**

Neon nodded, opened the partition to the driver's compartment and yelled, **"Cole: Susie says that's a spirit dragging the truck!"**

**.**

Cole was about to reply when Kill Switch yelled in response, **"Then tell that daffy cunt to get on the stick do her job! This crate is slowing down too much!"**

**.**

Face flushed in embarrassment, Neon turned back to Susie and said, **"Uh...um...Kill Switch wants you to get rid of the spirit."**

**.**

Susie shot a dark look at the front of the truck and replied, **"I heard what the fucking halfer said."** She looked back at the sky, ignoring the gunfire from the men running through the grass toward the truck. Slipping her wrist through the retaining thong, Susie drew Briosaid, her magesword, and plucked another marble from her pocket. She gathered her power, chanting in Gaelic. Her sword's edge flickered with a strange orange-yellow light as the inlaid orichalcum focused and channeled her arcane power. With a loud shout she released her spell at the distant helicopter. A barely visible wave of softly glowing white energy cannoned out from Susie. On its travel to the helicopter the wavefront clipped and shattered the corner of the warehouse, ripping off the streaming gutter. It crashed into the chopper and enveloped it.

.

The helicopter shook and spun, the tail weaving and dipping low. It started to tip and loose altitude as the pilot struggled to remain aloft. As the helicopter dropped, Neon gave a squeal that turned to a groan as the pilot miraculously pulled the chopper out of its forced dive and clawed his way back up to the cloud ceiling.

.

The truck lurched once again as the spirit slowed it down. Everyone heard the overworked electric motors straining against the summoned foe. A spray of bullets cascaded through the rear of the truck. Susie and Neon dropped behind the crate for cover, but Zag, caught in the midst of reloading his AK was not so lucky. Several rounds stitched across his torso to high in the chest, laying him flat on the floor, magazine in one hand and assault rifle in the other. Neon crawled to him but could find no blood. Eyes popping back open, he abruptly jumped back up and slammed the magazine home. Putting up a furious return fire he clearly injured one man.

.

Cole's face appeared in the open partition and bellowed, **"Susie you need to get rid of the spirit! Were not much faster than a running pace!"**

**.**

"**I need to get rid of the shaman first so they can't attack us directly!"** she yelled in return.

.

As if summoned by Susie's words, a bright green sphere trailing yellow sparks and streamers suddenly flashed out from the chopper. A moment later the sphere impacted the back of the truck and broke over it like a wave, flashing through each occupant. Everyone felt the magic pressure, squeezing all over their bodies, trying to crush them. Susie gasped as she exerted her power and tried to shunt the eldritch energy around her team. Most swooned a moment then straightened up, none the worse for the wear. Neon and Zig weren't so lucky. Neon gave out a yelp of pain, Zig a tearing groan, the spell physically damaging their bodies.

.

"_Like I was saying..."_ Susie thought as she shook off her momentary fatigue. Turing to Zig and Neon she said, **"Sorry, guys. I tried to keep it off all of you. That shaman is awful damn strong."** As the fusillade from the gunman started again, she took a deep breath and said, **"All right...enough of this shit."** Susie quickly pulled out another marble and again began to speak in Gaelic. In between phrases she said, **"You all keep the lead off me."** Everyone put down and impressive amount of suppressive fire: Zig from his seat, Zag and Neon crouched beside the bullet-scarred crate.

.

As Susie gathered her power once more, she absently noticed a flash from the woods: Akiko was alive and still shooting at the raiders in the field. Susie chanted in Irish Gaelic, drawing in more and more power until she veritably quivered with energy. The orichalcum edges of Briosaid flared brighter, almost incandescent, looking as if the sword was aflame. With a terrifying shriek she released her spell at the now hovering chopper one more time. Everyone in the back of the truck actually felt air rush past them as the much more visible wave of energy blasted out from her once again.

.

Someone in the chopper must have seen or sensed it coming. The pilot tried to evade the wavefront by turning to put the building between the spell and the chopper, but to no avail. The eldritch energy flowed over the helicopter a second time, enveloping it in a faint silvery-white nimbus, and then burst.

.

In less than a second, the damage done was impressive. The canopy and greenhouse windows exploded in a crystalline shower, each small shard glowing faintly as it fell to the earth. Surrounded by their own faint aura, both side doors were ripped off like so much tinfoil, twisting and falling like dead leaves. The helicopter tilted to the left as the last bit of the spell's energy blasted someone out of the now missing side door. The figure windmilled and barely caught itself on the landing skid. The engines seemed to be having trouble as they began to smoke, and the aircraft began to loose altitude quickly. As Susie collapsed to her knees, gasping in effort to resist the drain of the spell, Neon, Zig and Zag saw the chopper continue to drop in altitude while flying away from the fight. The last glimpse the team had of the helicopter was as it passed behind the warehouse, still going down and listing dangerously, the tiny figure no longer dangling but arms and legs tightly wrapped around the skid.

.

The loss of the helicopter seemed to take the fight out of the remaining raiders. The last two promptly broke off, firing behind them and dropping two smoke grenades to cover their escape into the woods. Zig took a few final shots at them as Zag pulled a nearly unconscious Susie safely further inside the truck. The departure of the shaman seemed to take some of the strength out of the spirit as well. Kill Switch was able to promptly speed up the truck, but the spirit was still dragging them. Realizing the team could ill afford to let their mage sleep off her fatigue while the spirit still hindered their movement, Zag flipped open his Medkit and fished out a stim-patch for Susie.

.

Neon saw what he was doing and said, **"Zag, you better make it a small one so you don't hurt her."**

**.**

Zag nodded, knowing too much of the powerful stimulant could permanently damage magical ability. He pulled out a Level 2 patch and slapped it on the back of Susie's hand. The mage inhaled sharply, her eyes focusing and growing brighter. She smiled and said, **"Thanks."** Susie rolled over on her front side and said, **"Now hold my arm and don't let me fall overboard while I try to get a better look at our friend underneath." **Slinging his AK-97, Zag intertwined one of his arms with Susie's, and with the other grabbed a double-handful of her jacket. They slid to the edge of the opening and Susie leaned her sword-wielding arm and head over the edge to look under the truck.

.

Connected to the ground, but also wrapped around the rear motor and axles, was a vaguely man-shaped thing. It appeared to be an articulated pile of dirt and debris with two arms and a lump for a head. Beneath the truck Susie could see the lights of the fast approaching guard shack. She reached as far as she could and thrust with Briosaid, stabbing the physical form of the spirit roughly where the shoulders on a man would be located. The spirit gave a keening hiss; evidence the sword had wounded it. The spirit recoiled noiselessly, flowing away from the flickering mage sword to the front motor and battery housing. It again started dragging the truck while simultaneously attempting to damage the motor and batteries.

.

When Susie lifted her head back up, Zag helped her back up into the truck. She disengaged from him and ran to the open partition and said, **"Cole, I hurt the spirit, but it's under the front end now."**

**.**

He flicked a quick glance at her and said, **"Just a second."** Through the large windshield, Susie saw the guard shack looming. Both guards were outside of the shack, firing rather half-heartedly at the truck. Cole extended his arm out of the window and liberally sprayed fire at them from his Skorpion machine-pistol. The guards broke and dove for cover over the waist-high concrete wall. Kill Switch gave a war whoop as they crashed through the red and white barrier arm.

.

A terrible metallic shriek cut his whoop short as the truck jerked its most violent and slowed hard. With the sudden deceleration, everyone in the cargo area was knocked off their feet, and Cole thrown forward against the dash. He looked over at Kill Switch and said, **"Uh, chummer...I think the tiger's teeth were up."**

**.**

Kill Switch shrugged and replied, **"Yeah, well maybe it'll help our high and mighty spell singer with the spirit if I try and scrape it off the bottom."** True to his assessment, they did seem to be going faster over the pavement.

.

Susie's angry face reappeared in the partition aperture. **"Holy shite! Where'd you get your driver's license, Stumpy? Out of a Stuffer Shack vending machine?"**

**.**

"**Listen, you chot,"** Kill Switch said huffily,** "anytime you wanna jump up here and drive the bus be my guest."** He slewed the truck around a corner, drawing sparks and yet another screeching noise. There was another jerk and the truck slowed slightly again. Kill Switch looked over his shoulder at her and said, **"But honestly, honey: I'd much rather you got rid of our passenger."**

**.**

Susie sighed tiredly and quietly groaned, **"God...I can't believe I'm saying this...I wish Piru was here."**

**.**

"**What's that you said?"** Cole asked.

.

"**Nothing," **Susie said. She paused and continued, "**Cole, I need a hand with this and you'll have to do."**

**.**

That surprised Cole. **"Uh, sure, whatever you need,"** he said.

.

Addressing Kill Switch, Susie said, **"All right Half-Pint: pull off near the entrance for Puget Park so we don't lose Akiko. She probably bugged out once we hit the tire shredders."**

**.**

The truck gave another lurch, cutting off Kill Switch's retort to the 'Half-Pint' comment. He cursed under his breath and said, **"Better make it quick. The spirit has ripped something apart. We're losing battery power even as we speak**."He glanced up at the low rain clouds and added, **"And it won't be long before Lone Star shows up to track us down." **To conserve what power they had, he shut off all of the lights and returned the truck to manual, unhooking his control cables. Kill Switch turned into the entrance and parked the truck off the main road to wait for Akiko and enact whatever plan Susie had for the spirit.

71


	8. Chapter 6: Side Trip

Return to Sender Chapter 6: Sidetrip

.

_Slightly earlier..._

Akiko stopped running as a fiery lance of machinegun fire came from inside the darkened warehouse. Leveling the Remington, she took aim and squeezed off a round at one of the men scattered around the warehouse door. Akiko's target jerked to one side and stumbled, but as it had been for the last several minutes, her long-range marksmanship was insufficient to mortally wound him.

.

As soon as Akiko took the shot, she moved again, sprinting back up to the top of the ridge. The two assault rifle armed opponents liberally sprayed gunfire over her just-vacated area, the rounds pattering through the underbrush. A much larger volume of gunfire gave her pause, and made Akiko turn and see the Hyundai driving out of the warehouse with Cole laying down suppressing fire as he jogged beside it. Akiko ran as fast as the underbrush allowed her, her steps no longer harried by the two gunman detailed to pin her down. They had lost all interest as the truck accelerated toward them. Just as she reached the constructed sniper blind, a brilliant flash of purple-blue light caught her attention: one of Susie's spells hitting a roof gunman. As the truck caromed across the open field next to the service road, Akiko added her own rifle-fire to keep the attackers off her teammates, keeping up as steady a volume of fire as she could with the bolt-action.

.

Neither alarmed nor surprised, Akiko saw Susie exchange spells with another magic-user in the chopper, and silently felt a moment of joy as the helicopter went down. Judging the shot far too difficult for one of her skills, Akiko did not try to hit the figure dangling from the landing strut, instead finally killing a single gunman chasing the truck. Looking back up at the chopper Akiko adjusted the magnification of her eyes to see the figure hanging from the strut, but the distance and gloominess of the weather prevented her from getting any sort of positive image for identification. All she could see was that it appeared to be an older woman wearing shamanistic regalia.

.

As the truck crashed through the parking barrier with a blaze of sparks, Akiko decided it was time to go. She quickly packed up the Remington, subconsciously paying heed to the movements of the last two men leaving the field under cover of smoke, and the cautious security guards finally advancing slowly across the field to the warehouse. _"Lone Star will be here in a couple of minutes,"_ Akiko thought. She wondered if the rain would slow down Lone Star air support or if they had similarly insane pilots as the interloping strike team.

.

Akiko fired up the Arktis and rode roughly north down the ridge, trusting in her own low-light vision rather than the head light, expertly weaving around trees and underbrush until she arrived at the road. Still nearly devoid of traffic in the light rain, this was mainly an industrial road, serving the docks along Duwamish Waterway and eventually Federated-Boeing Airfield. Wit very few vehicles on the road, Akiko blended into the sparse traffic, now switching on her lights as she continued north to the rendezvous point, just inside the Puget Park entrance.

.

Akiko switched her lights back off as she swung into the entrance of the park, flipping her eyes back to low light, the night bright enough with the rain temporarily stopped. As the truck came into view, she slowed down to a rather odd sight: Cole bent down under the front of the truck swinging what looked like a combat axe at something unseen. Susie poked and jabbed with her magesword at what was most likely the same something underneath the truck from behind the front wheel. Zig or Zag stood outside the truck, turning to cover her as he heard the whine of the approaching bike. He nodded and lowered his AK-97 as she shut off the bike and rocked it back onto the stand. The other twin sat on the edge of the cargo area, bloodstains on the shoulder of his coat, Copper Neon fidgeting next to him. Akiko could see the bulk of the stolen crate within the gloom of the back of the truck.

.

"**Godamnit! Die already!"** Cole roared as he swung the axe with frantic vigor.

Cole had not fought many spirits before today. On many runs he had encountered them, but usually the mage or shaman had taken care of it. But with the energy Susie expended with the helicopter, she was worried that the spirit might be able to kill her should she try and fight it astrally...which had led them to the dubious task of having to fight it physically.

.

Cole and Susie had attacked the spirit after Kill Switch had pulled their battered Hyundai van to the side of the road at the park entrance. Once the truck had stopped, the spirit had immediately tried to finish destroying the front motors and driveshafts to fully disable the truck. Susie had told him that he could only strike the spirit with a physical hand weapon, as like all spirits, it was immune to guns or explosions.

.

Cole swung his axe again, feeling the somewhat disturbing sensation as he landed his blow. **"Why is it still fighting?"** he grunted.** "We've already quit moving."**

**. **

"**Its final command must have been to disable the truck, not just to stop it,"** Susie replied breathlessly. Indeed, the spirit had taken little opportunity to strike back at either of them, and instead devoted most of its attention to destroying what remained of the truck's running gear.

.

"**It's weakening!"** Susie crowed. Cole could detect no difference in the spirit's behavior, but trusted her assessment. With a flurry of blows from both of them, the spirit gave a final keening moan and at long last vanished.

.

Cole dragged himself out from under the truck with a groan, standing up and thrusting his combat axe into his belt. Susie stood as well, looking an absolute wreck. Dirty rainwater dripped from her clothing and hair, and bits of litter from the street stuck to her as well. Cole self-consciously brushed his own body as Susie cursed and tried, without much success, to clean herself off.

.

With a start he saw Akiko had arrived. The Japanese woman sat back on the seat of the Messerschmitt bike, obviously damp from her ride through the rain. With a faint smile she asked,** "What were you two doing?"**

**.**

Susie turned to her and said disgustedly, **"Some kind of fragging spirit, courtesy of the shaman in the chopper."** She wiped down the blade of her sword before sliding it home in the sheath on her hip.

.

Akiko was disturbed at the level of damage the Hyundai truck had taken. She could smell the telltale odor of overheated metal that stressed batteries gave off. _"I'm surprised it still runs,"___she thought.

.

Kill Switch confirmed her assumption as he leaned out the passenger window and said, **"This crate isn't going to make it much further. The batteries are hemorrhaging and the Grid-Link equipment is damaged."**

**.**

Cole _hmphed_ and asked, **"How far can we get on what's left in the batteries?"**

Kill Switch pursed his lips in thought before passing judgment. **"Five, maybe ten klicks at most."**

**. **

The Grid-Link allowed the truck to draw power from the Seattle electric vehicle network. With that inoperative, and the batteries damaged, they were pretty much dead in the water. **"**_Well...we'd never get past the housing complex guard looking like this anyway_**, "** Cole thought. He thought for a moment more, and loudly proclaimed to the group at large, **"Okaaay...we need another vehicle, folks."** He checked his timepiece and added,** "And quick." **The team glanced at each other. Susie sighed and whipped out her phone.

.

King tiredly sat at his desk. It had been a long day, and increasingly he found that his cover business, Majestic Exports, was taking more of his time than his actual job. King was counting down the hours until his overseas trip to Chiba started. He needed to meet some new folks to expand his contacts, and was treating the important trip as a working vacation. King had not been to Chiba in nearly five years, and longed to relax as he immersed himself into her vices once he finished with the biz.

.

King raised the glass of Jack Daniel's and belted back a quick swallow. Savoring the taste of the liquor for a moment, he chased it with a sip of his Coke slushy, then sighed and got down to eating his dinner. The rich aroma of mustard, salami, pepperoni, olive oil, and vinegar wafted to his nostrils as he unwrapped the sub sandwich. Said oil and vinegar dribbled onto the desk as he raised the sandwich for the first bite. Halfway to his mouth, his cell phone rang.

.

A musical ringtone blared out, _**"Each night the covers were unfolded, each night it's Susie's turn to riiiide, while Charles...you know! The one they call her **__**BROTHER**__**! Covers on his eyes..."**_King dropped the sandwich and snatched up the phone, cutting off the ringtone in mid-lyric. He pushed two buttons simultaneously before answering; rerouting the call through some of the best masking, encryption, and diversion software money could buy. **"King,"** he quickly said into the phone.

.

The dulcet tones of Susie's voice said, **"Hoi, King. It's Susie."**

**.**

With just those few words, King could hear the fatigue and anger in her voice. Susie was usually angry half of the time, but the only thing that made her sound that tired was heavy magic usage r a long foray in The Lair. Checking the time in his eyes he thought, _"Something must have gone awry on the shadowrun."_ **"What's wrong, my dear?"** he asked.

.

Susie sighed tiredly and said, **"This 'run turned into a total frigging mess."**

**.**

She paused, and King kept silent to let her continue. He could hear the clack of her heels over the phone. Susie always paced on the phone, but usually not as quickly as he could hear her now, just another sign of her frustration.

.

"**The truck is shot to pieces, and our miniature rigger says it won't get much farther,"** she said. She took a deep breath and continued, **"So we need another truck...and fast."**

**.**

King silently thought for a moment and then said, "**So ka,"** in understanding. He was disturbed at Susie's tone: beyond the anger and frustration, there seemed to be a hint of despair, something he had never heard from Susie, even during the depths of the Detroit fiasco. Trying to shake off his misgivings and mentally filing his concerns for later, he flipped through his address book in his headware and asked, "**Exactly where are you?"**

**.**

"**Inside Puget Park, just off of 16th Avenue Southwest,"** she said.

.

"**Gimme just a sec, Suze,"** he said. King called up a map from his headware to see their location. _"Damn...they didn't get far,"_ he thought ruefully. He quickly cross-referenced his contacts list with the map. Just south of their location he found what he was looking for: Hector and Javier's shop. **"I got something for you, Susie. Put Kill Switch on."**

**.**

King heard Susie's voice and another, deeper male voice exchange some mumbled words. All King could make out was Susie's exasperated exclamation, _**"Just take the damn phone!"**_

_**.**_

After a moment a gruff male voice said, **"Aweh?"**

**.**

"**Allright, listen, my friend,"** King said. **"Down in Riverton, where 100****th**** Street and South 8****th**** Avenue cross is a junkyard."**

**.**

King paused to let Kill Switch call up a map from either the truck's navigation system or his own headware. Once Kill Switch found it he said, **"Yeah, I got it."**

**.**

"**It's operated by two brothers: Hector and Javier,"** King continued. **"I'm gonna give them a call to expect you. They should be able to help."** Kill Switch grunted in reply as King asked, **"Would you please give me back to Susie?"**

**. **

The phone shifted hands again, with King overhearing, _**"Haai...haai stukkie...your boyfriend needs some phone sex..."**_ from Kill Switch.

.

"**Fucking prick,"** Susie whispered as she retrieved the phone. She sighed heavily and asked, **"What's up, King?"**

**.**

Again King heard that something in her voice, that odd tone, almost a quaver. If it were any other woman, he would have said she was near to crying. In all of the many years King had known Susie, he had only seen her in tears once, right after the murder of her Charles. That something as simple as a screwed-up shadowrun could bring Susie close to tears was, again, uncharacteristic of her.** "Okay, Susie. Here's what you need to do,"** King said as he laid out the plan for her.

.

Kill Switch slowly drove the truck south, roughly parallel to the old 509. They crept along side streets and lesser-traveled roads, the damaged Hyundai truck whining and groaning as they went. They painfully tried to avoid detection by both law enforcement and any curious local denizens. Initially it wasn't easy to do, as most of the northern end of the Riverton neighborhood was residential. Thankfully the rain had returned in their favor, masking their slow, painful progress past glowing middle-class homes. Once they crossed the old 509, closer to the Duwamish Waterway, the area reverted to more industrial usage.

.

As they turned onto 100th Street, the salvage yard loomed in the wet darkness. More than a city block of corrugated steel walls surrounded it. Even in the darkness they saw that colorful graffiti covered nearly every square inch of the steel, some of it gang related, most of it vulgar. The Disassemblers gang loosely claimed this territory, and some of their signature white and grey skulls dotted the walls at irregular intervals. Akiko, still riding the Arktis, flashed ahead of the truck and pulled into the lighted area at the entrance.

.

Well-armored solar lights provided a modicum of illumination over the broken blacktop and dirt lot. Ahead of them a large, cinderblock and concrete building sat on the property, the steel walls of the yard flush to the structure on each side. Through the darkness, huge piles of scrap vehicles were visible behind the building and walls, awaiting their final disposition. The building had a single, dark, thickly-barred window, a heavy steel door, and a metal garage door. Kill Switch blipped the horn and flashed the lights once. Almost silently, the well-oiled garage door rolled up in its tracks, exposing a dimly lighted interior, and a single man-sized figure waving to them. Kill Switch pulled the shuddering truck through the door as Akiko waited on the Messerschmitt racing bike to ride sweep. She scanned the road behind them one last time for any pursuit before following.

.

A second man waved them around a cinder block partition wall into the shop proper. Once the garage door completely closed, multiple fluorescents came on, bathing the shop in a harsh white light, and revealing a crew of roughly a dozen humans and orks. The team climbed and jumped out of the truck as Akiko stopped the bike. A short, heavily tattooed, Hispanic man stepped forward, a large grin on his face. He held out his hand to Cole and said, **"**_**Hola**_**, I'm Hector. The King said you would be coming."**

**. **

Cole nodded as he shook Hector's hand and said, **"Thanks."** He indicated the Hyundai with a sideways shake of his head and added, **"Our truck is kind of...out of commission."**

**.**

Hector raised one eyebrow and said, **"Well, these things happen."** As Susie and Neon came around to the front of the truck, Hector smoothed his pencil-thin moustache and said, **"Ah, Senorita Susie, The King said you would come."** He motioned with his hand to her and said, **"Come along out back, let me see what I can find to help you."** Susie gave a ghost of a smile to Hector as they all followed him across the shop.

.

Another garage door, open to the salvage yard, gaped across from them. The crew of men and orks mostly scattered as the team walked with Hector. The sharp smell of automotive paint nearly subdued the odor of other chemicals and exhaust. Hector led them around a large paint booth as the unmistakable sound of a forklift overrode the clack of their footfalls. Behind the booth, the smell of paint and solvent were stronger, supplemented by the odor of plastic body filler and fiberglass resin. In a long row along one wall sat several vehicles in various states of repair and disassembly, most covered with a fine patina of filler dust. First in line was a large flatbed truck, still partially masked in painter's paper.

.

Indicating the flatbed with a grandiose wave of his hand, Hector said, **"This is the biggest thing I got right now." **As he stripped off the paper from the glass and trim the brilliant fluorescent lights gleamed off of his shaved head.

.

Cole looked the truck over, noting the fresh paint on both cab and flatbed. **"Is it hot?"** he asked.

.

"**Well..." **Hector prevaricated, **"let's jus' say its...**_**warm**_**."**

**.**

Kill Switch evaluated the truck with a professional eye. **"It's no more'n a bakkie," **he complained.

.

Everyone except Cole looked confused at Kill Switch's statement. Susie sighed in exasperation and said, **"Can't you just speak English?"**

**.**

Kill Switch simply glared at her as he jumped up on the driver's side step. Seeing Susie bristle at being ignored, Cole quickly jumped in and said, **"A 'bakkie' is a pick-up truck."**

**.**

As understanding dawned on Hector's face, he shrugged and said, **"Sorry **_**jefe.**_** The King told me an' Javier you got some heavy cargo, and this is all I got right now that'll haul any kinda cargo."**

**.**

Kill Switch stuck his head in through the open door. He clucked at the lack of drivewire equipment and said, **"It's not rigged up."**

**.**

"**Not everything on the street rigged, **_**jefe,**_**"** Hector said. He looked in confusion at Kill Switch and asked,** "Can't you drive regular?"**

**.**

Susie snorted derisively and said, **"Not if his feet can't touch the pedals."**

**.**

Kill Switch turned on the mage, his face flushed in anger. He dropped off the step and advanced at her menacingly. **"Listen you loskind poeslap...,"** he growled.

.

Faster than Cole would have given her credit for, Susie jumped backwards, scattering the rest of the team. She shook her right arm and produced a monofilament whip. Everyone, including Hector, backed further away...all except Kill Switch. Susie snapped out the whip's glistening length, swinging it lazily and expertly. In a dangerous voice she said, **"If you call me **_**anything**_** referring to 'cunt' or 'slut' or 'whore' again, I will kill you where you stand!"**

**.**

Hand on the butt of his pistol Kill Switch smirked and said, **"Yeah...good luck with that, honey."**

**.**

Akiko stepped up and put an arm around Susie's shoulder and laid a hand on her arm. **"Susie: remember what we know,"** she said.

.

Cole finished easing his hand to the grip of his Skorpion, wondering exactly what is was Akiko meant by that statement. She had used it before, during the pre-run meeting at Dante's Inferno. His professional eye noticed the other members of their team did not have weapons fully raised, but held ready nonetheless.

.

Cole watched a play of emotions go across Susie's face: anger, frustration, then at last calm. But with the calm, a light blossomed and glittered in her two-color eyes. Cole had seen that look before, from soldiers on the battlefield, the ones where the killing became most important. Susie continued to swing the whip lightly as she said, **"I guess I don't have to **_**end**_** his life."** A slight smile appeared, matching the light in her eyes. ** "I could just...**_**detain**_**...it for awhile."**

**.**

Not releasing Susie's arm Akiko said, **"I do not think that would be wise. He may have the ability to use it at will, and we have no idea how large the blast radius is."**

**.**

"**Blast radius for what?"** Cole asked. He looked back and forth from Kill Switch to Akiko and Susie. None of the three responded to his question. **"I said: 'blast radius for **_**what'**_**?"** Cole demanded.

.

Akiko looked at Cole over Susie's shoulder, her chrome eyes unreadable. **"We thought you knew. Aren't you his friend?"** she asked. When Cole didn't respond she continued in a louder voice, **"He had a failsafe installed: an explosive device in his body, like a cortex bomb, set to go off at the moment of his death."**

**.**

Neon yelped in fear even as Hector backed away further, his back to the wall of the shop. **"How big of an explosive device?"** one of the twins asked.

.

Kill Switch chuckled and said, **"Oh...just about half a kilo of nitroctol."**

**.**

"_Oh...My...God."_ was all Cole could think. He was familiar with nitroctol, the common name for the hideously expensive octanitrocubane. It had replaced the older octol in military inventories and heavy mining operations back around the time of the Awakening. A half-kilo brick of nitroctol would most likely level the entire building and leave a crater almost a meter deep. Cole stared at the dwarf, finally understanding why the 'Kill' had been added to his working name. The dwarven rigger stood impassively, the smirk still on his lips as he watched the female mage expertly swing her whip. Cole held out his hands and pleaded, **"Susie...please...please calm down."** He frantically tried to think of some reason to convince Susie to not attack the dwarven rigger. Hoping to appeal to her professionalism Cole finally said,** "Look, don't forget: the Johnson hired him. Whether you like it or not, he's part of the team."**

**.**

"**I am calm, Cole," **Susie said, her voice tired and seemingly far away. Akiko whispered something into her ear. Susie's shoulders slumped slightly as the lash of the whip abruptly retracted back into the handle with a snap.

.

Susie turned to face Cole, and he was surprised with the haggard look she presented, still dirty from the fight with the spirit, her makeup smeared and run a bit from the rain and sweat. Although her odd two-color eyes still gleamed with incipient violence, they carried dark circles as if Susie had gone through several sleepless nights. **"And yes, you're right, Cole,"** she said.** "He **_**is**_** part of the team, so I'll work with him until this 'run is finished,"** she added. After a deep breath, Susie squared up her shoulders and softly said, **"But if he calls me a cunt, or a slut, or a whore again...he is going to die."**

**.**

Cole looked again at Kill Switch: he could see a faint mist of perspiration across the dwarf's forehead. One small crystalline bead slowly traced its way down Kill Switch's temple, over his cheek and into his beard. Although the dwarf's eyes looked flat and impassive, Cole could see all of the signs of real fear. With a flash of deduction he knew Kill Switch wanted out of this confrontation as much as everyone else did. Trying to make peace Cole said, **"I'm sure he's not going to say anything like that again."** He caught Kill Switch's eye and continued firmly, **"**_**Are**_** you, Kill Switch?"**

**.**

The dwarf shook his head and quietly said, **"Nah, I didn't mean nothin' by it."** Trying to save face, he shrugged and added, **"It's just how we boers talk in da' platteland."** Susie nodded as she walked away, Akiko's arm still around her shoulder. Neon joined them as they passed, giving Kill Switch a sour look as she did.

.

As the ladies walked away everyone else gave a silent sigh of relief. Hector ambled over to the where both twins leaned against a workbench. They quietly spoke, occasionally glancing at Cole and Kill Switch and slipping into an embarrassed silence. Hands in his pockets, Cole walked over to the dwarf. Kill Switch let out a held breath and said, **"Thanks."**

**.**

Cole shook his head as they meandered over to the flatbed. **"That wasn't cool, chummer," **he said. **"I get that you don't like her, but you **_**know**_** those coupla words set women off."** Kill Switch nodded, sheepishly not meeting Cole's eyes. Cole slapped a companionable hand on the dwarf's shoulder and changed the subject. **"So, can you drive this heap?"** he asked.

.

Sounding embarrassed Kill Switch admitted, **"No, not without a rig...or some dwarven equipment."**

**.**

Cole realized that perhaps the reason Kill Switch had responded so virulently to Susie's barb was because it had been true: Kill Switch was too short to drive the flatbed. Not wanting to rub any salt in the wound Cole said, **"Null sheen. I can drive this."** Cole glanced inside the flatbed and said thoughtfully, **"But we don't have enough vehicle for the bunch of us."** He took a look around the shop and added, **"Me and the twins can fit in here, Susie and Akiko on the Messerschmitt, so we need one more ride." **Cole walked down the line of vehicles, peering into each one. He stopped at a still paint-masked roadster and peeled back the paper. Giving Kill Switch a huge toothy smile he said, **"This 3440 ZX has a full rig."**

**.**

The rain had started back up. Cole eased the flatbed through the nighttime traffic, trying to stay close to Akiko and Susie on the racing bike. With Susie riding pillion, Akiko had piloted the bike conservatively so as not to loose the truck. He checked the rearview mirror: the gunmetal-grey Nissan roadster containing Kill Switch and Neon trailed right behind the flatbed.

.

While Hector's employees loaded and secured the crate to the flatbed, the team decided that without the moving van their original plan would not work: they needed an alternative safehouse. During the slightly heated discussion Susie grudgingly suggested her own place as it was a converted warehouse and had an area for the vehicles to be parked inside and out of sight.

.

Near the docks, south of the International District, the Arktis signaled and hit an exit ramp off the viaduct, Cole and the Nissan following suit. As he followed the bike, the impression Cole had for the neighborhood was one of industrial neglect, if not blight. The few buildings that had lights also had high fences, probably augmented by armed guards and dogs. Cole followed the women through the dark neighborhood as they pulled down a sub-street almost directly under the viaduct. The street ended in a turn, flanked by an enormous, nearly empty railyard. A pair of burned-out derelict cars decorated the curb, complete with a couple of wino squatters huddled under a tarp, adding to the general ambiance. Something about the two squatters set off alarms for Cole. As their eclectic caravan slowed in front of a large warehouse-like structure, the pair of winos threw off their tarp and produced a shotgun and assault rifle. Akiko stopped the bike as the man and ork split up to cover her and the remaining vehicles. Cole stopped the truck short as the twins readied their matching AK-97's.

.

Susie roused herself from clasping Akiko and languidly waved to the gun-toting squatters. They seemed to know her and immediately dropped their guns and approached the bike. Cole and the twins relaxed as the two figures briefly spoke with Susie. After a moment they appeared satisfied and went back to watching the street from under their tarp. The garage door on the building rolled up and Akiko maneuvered the bike inside. Cole put the flatbed back into gear and followed, Kill Switch in the Nissan roadster just behind.

.

The large open loading dock area had a few older fluorescent lights, dimly illuminating the aged, oil-stained concrete floor. Akiko pulled the bike next to a wide stairwell and parked it. Cole swung the flatbed around in a circle to face the way he came before shutting it down. Kill Switch stopped the 3440ZX on the opposite side of the stairwell in front of what appeared to be a freight elevator large enough to hold the Nissan, popping the small trunk on the roadster.

.

Everyone tumbled out of their respective vehicles, stretching aching muscles, and in the case of Zig and Neon still nursing injuries. Susie nearly fell off the bike, needing to lean against Akiko as she dismounted. Akiko drew the sniper rifle from its scabbard and slung it over her shoulder. With a vague wave encompassing the whole building, Susie said, **"Welcome to my humble home." ** Cole hefted the equipment tote out of the Nissan's trunk as the twins, Neon, and Kill Switch started for the elevator. Susie stopped them as she said, **"Sorry, the doors are welded shut 'cause the elevator doesn't work."** Amid a few faint groans of fatigue and pain, the team trooped up the concrete and steel staircase, passing through a wide set of double doors midway up the stairs.

.

Cole was surprised at the size and quality of the living space. Looking at the outside, he expected some sort of crack-house or BTL-den, but it was nothing of the sort. It looked like a normal, middle-class loft. Susie began to divest herself of equipment as soon as she reached the second floor. Akiko cleared her throat loudly, and Susie snapped her head around sleepily. Grimacing she said, **"Right."** The mage began pointing around as she said,** "The fridge is in the kitchen, trideo in the living room. Let's make the girl's bathroom upstairs, boy's on the other side of the kitchen." **She shook her head to clear it and continued with a faint smile, **"And to paraphrase my favorite Romanian: '**_**You are free to go anywhere you like in this house, except where the doors are locked, where of course you will not wish to go**_**'."**

**.**

She swept up most of the items from a large kitchen table, which everyone took as a signal to use it for equipment. The twins promptly divested themselves of their heavy weapons. Cole dropped the tote on the floor, and then added his helmet to the table and some of his armor to the floor. Akiko put the Remington on the table, then shrugged off her jacket and hung it from a chair. She opened the refrigerator and said, **"Susie, there is no food here."**

**.**

Susie swore softly and replied, **"Yeah...sorry. We weren't supposed to come back here so I wasn't really expecting company."**

**.**

In the act of taking off his coat, Kill Switch grunted, pulled it back on and said, **"I'll go make a grub run."**

**. **

At that statement, Akiko shared a fleeting glance with Susie. **"I will give you a hand,"** Akiko said as she grabbed her jacket. Kill Switch gave her a raised eyebrow but nodded nonetheless as they trooped back down the stairs. Within a few moments, everyone staying behind heard the roadster start up and then drive across the ground floor back out into the night.

. 

"**Susie, is there a wireless hub here?"** Neon tentatively asked as she pulled her cyberdeck case from the crate.

.

Susie seemed surprised by the question. **"Ah, not really. Wireless coverage in this neighborhood is...spotty,"** Susie said. Pointing to the wall behind the trideo she said, **"There's a regular jackpoint, though."**

**.**

Neon fished out a slim cord from her cyberdeck and plugged it into the jack port. She kicked off her shoes and sat down into the stuffed chair, pulling a blanket up to her chin. She withdrew another wire from the deck and gently inserted the gold tip into one of the jacks on her temple. With a sigh of contentment she snuggled down into the chair as her consciousness slipped into the matrix. In a far-away voice Neon said, **"I'm going to do some backtracking on the Matrix to try and cover our tracks and see what The 'Star has on our shadowrun."**

**. **

Susie opened a closet, pulled out some first aid stuff, and tossed it in the twin's general direction. Zag snagged it out of the air as she said, **"Zig's dressing should probably be changed. Once I've had a chance to rest, I'll heal him up some."** As she started for the stairs to the next floor, Cole and the twins couldn't help but stare as Susie dropped her armored jacket on the stairs, exposing the shoulder holster for her Colt Manhunter and a fair amount of pale flesh between the décolletage of her corset and worked silver of her collar. Her arms were bare save for a single, intricate silver armband high on her left arm, and the complex shake holster for her monofilament whip on her right wrist. **"I'm getting a shower then to bed,"** the mage groaned, quickly climbing the stairs out of sight.

.

The twins headed off for the bathroom to wash and change the makeshift field dressing. Cole heard the unmistakeable sound of lots of water running through old pipes as Susie started her shower. He glanced once at Neon, lost in the world of the Matrix, and then ambled over to the fridge. He opened it to see Akiko had not been exaggerating: it was empty save for a couple of plastic leftover containers, a complete collection of condiments, and some beer. He grabbed a Dark Elf Lager, popping the cap as he shut the door. As he tipped his head back for the first swallow, he heard a small voice say, **"Hello."**

**.**

In surprise, Cole sucked some of the beer down the wrong pipe and choked, blowing beer foam out of his nose. He spun and pulled his Predator pistol, coughing up the remainder of the mouthful of dark beer. Sitting on the end of the counter was a little girl, maybe ten years old. She was dressed in a school uniform with colorful ribbons depending from her dark curly hair. The girl seemed unsurprised or shocked at Cole's display, just sitting there kicking her feet and smiling enigmatically. She raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at the large automatic in Cole's hand.

.

Self-consciously, Cole put away the gun and then wiped the beer from his face with the back of his hand. The bottle had foamed over, leaving his hand covered and a small puddle on the floor. He put the dripping bottle on the counter and dropped a dishrag onto the slowly spreading liquid. Wiping it with his booted foot, Cole looked at the girl again.

.

With a bit of a start he noticed she looked a great deal like Susie, except younger. She even had Susie's weird two-color eyes. _"Nothing in my info mentioned Susie had a daughter,."_ Cole thought. Most folks he had known that had children and ran the shadows, (and they were damned few), left their kids with relatives or friends. He briefly wondered if this little girl was just supposed to sit here by herself, with no food in the fridge, while they hid out with her mother at the safehouse. Shaking his head in disbelief at the mage's recklessness, Cole tried to call up his old skill with children. Making sure he didn't show too much tooth, he smiled at the girl and said, **"I'm sorry, sweetie: did we wake you?"**

**.**

The girl giggled engagingly and said, **"No, silly ork, you didn't wake me."** She looked down at his foot blotting the spill and said, **"You made a mess."**

**.**

Cole chuckled and said, **"Well, you startled me." **He picked up the now-sopping towel and dropped it in the sink as he retrieved his diminished beer. **"What's your name, sweetie?"** he asked.

.

The girl dropped off the counter with a clatter of shoes and simply said, **"Piru."**

**.**

"**It's nice to meet you, Piru. My name is Cole," **he said. Cole took another swig of the beer and reached down to the crate for his machinegun, suddenly remembering he had left it in the cab of the flatbed. He straightened back up, smiled at Piru again, said, **"Excuse me, sweetie," **and slowly eased past her towards the steps downstairs.

.

As his hand closed onto the banister he was brought up short by Piru asking, **"Where are you going?"**

**.**

Cole turned immediately, a bit disconcerted to find the girl standing right behind him. He had not heard the girl follow him out of the kitchen. **"Uh...just downstairs to get my...uh, more of my stuff."**

.

Piru smiled sweetly at him. She then suddenly slipped her hand into his as she said, **"Okay, I'm coming with you."**

**.**

Feeling nonplussed Cole glanced at his timepiece and stammered, **"Um...shouldn't you be in bed, Piru? I mean, isn't it a school night."** With a twinkle in her odd eyes, Piru shook her head, curls and ribbons dancing. Cole cocked his head and listened: he could still hear the shower running. He shrugged and said, **"Okay. Come on."**

**.**

As they descended the stairs hand-in-hand, Cole was disturbed that Piru's hand seemed to have almost no warmth. **"Christ, sweetie! Are you all right? You're frozen!"** he said to her. Piru did not speak, she simply nodded and smiled at him again.

.

They reached the bottom of the stairs and the dark loading dock. As they walked to the flatbed, Cole heard his footfalls echo off the concrete and cinder block walls. Piru, however, seemed to make no sound. _"Maybe it's some sort of mage thing," _Cole wondered. He knew magical ability was genetic and if this was Susie's daughter, as he suspected, she might already be on her way to becoming a mage as well.

.

At the flatbed, Cole disengaged his hand from hers before opening the cab door. He leaned inside and grabbed his Ares machinegun. As he closed the door, he saw Piru staring in rapt attention to the tarp-covered crate, her small hands gripping the side of the flatbed. In the near dark of the loading dock, Piru's pale skin and white tights almost seemed to have a preternatural glow. She turned to him, and in an instant he knew this was no person. Her two-color eyes were actually pinpoints of blue and green fire, dancing madly in the gloom, her form surrounded by a faint nimbus of pale blue light. Cole gasped and recoiled a step from...whatever it was. Piru laughed at his reaction, and although her laughter sounded very much like the silvery tinkle of a small child's amusement, Cole sensed rather than heard a deep malevolence behind the innocence.

.

"**Scared you, didn't I?"** the child-form asked.

.

Unconsciously Cole brought up the empty machinegun. **"Who...**_**what**_**...are you?"** he whispered.

.

Perfectly deadpan it said, **"I told you: I am Piru."** Seeing his confusion it continued, **"I'm a spirit that...sometimes stays with Susie."**

**.**

Shaking his head Cole said, **"Holy crap, I thought you were Susie's daughter."** The spirit gave a girlish laugh, forcing Cole to ask, **"Why it that so funny?"** He motioned with his hand and added,** "I mean you look just like her." **This set off another peal of laughter from the spirit. Even though there was genuine mirth, Cole sensed an undercurrent of maliciousness to the laughter. Sighing he asked again, **"So why is this so funny?"**

**.**

Controlling its laughter, but not its smile, the spirit said, **"It's so funny because Susie can't ever have any kids."**

**.**

It was possible that was an inside joke, but the spirit seemed to exude a palpable spitefulness that made Cole suspect Susie wouldn't find it very funny. Although Cole had decided he would never have children, for fear of passing along his ork genes, to be completely unable would have been awful. _"Even more so for a woman,"_ he thought. **"That's no really funny...in fact it's kinda sad,"** Cole said quietly.

.

Piru paid his comment no mind as it turned back to the flatbed. Gazing at the covered crate the spirit crooned, **"Oooh...what's inside the box?"**

**.**

Taken aback by the question Cole asked, **"Can't you tell?"**

**.**

The look the spirit gave him would have done Kill Switch credit. **"Of course not, silly ork,"** Piru replied. Quick as lightning a broad smile appeared on the spirit's face, and the fire-points of its eyes grew in intensity. **"Let's open it and find out!"**

**.**

Cole's professionalism came to the fore as he said, **"I don't think that's a good idea. The box doesn't really belong to us."**

**.**

"**Pleeeeeease!"** the spirit begged, clasping its hands together as it pleaded. Cole was disturbed at how much it sounded just like a young girl trying to wheedle a favorite uncle. The faint emanation of malignance came off the spirit again, steeling his resolve.

.

"**No,"** Cole said with finality.** "I'm not going to open it."**

**.**

Anger flared briefly across the spirit's face. It abruptly changed tactics and immediately became coquettish, almost flirtatious. Playing with its hair and ribbons the spirit looked at Cole from under its eyelashes. **"Please, Cole. Please..."** it pleaded. The spirit ran its hands down its body with more than a bit of lasciviousness. Voice changed to a deeper, sultry, womanlier voice, the spirit said,** "I'll do anything you want."**

**. **

He was so shocked he couldn't respond. Piru seemed to take his silence as permission to continue. The spirit's whole body glowed for a moment, changing and growing larger. Once the transformation was complete, Cole hissed in surprise at its new shape. It looked like an obviously teenage Susie, though not what he suspected the mage actually looked like during that time of her life.

.

Piru looked like every dirty old man's vision of a slutty school girl: face heavily made up with eye-shadow, mascara, blush and lipstick, white blouse unbuttoned and tied at the midriff showing a red bra. A jeweled ring in the bellybutton with just a hint of a tattoo plunging below the waist of the hip-hugging plaid skirt, the skirt so short it barely covered anything, exposing white garters across the thighs, long legs encased in white stockings and white high heeled pumps. The spirit kept playing with its hair as it said, **"I'll do **_**anything**_** you want...if we can just open the box." **From somewhere it produced, of all things, a lollipop. Cole was unable to drag his eyes away, though still, faintly, he could sense the...sinister feeling...emanating off this spirit. Swirling its very pink, and oddly pointed tongue around the candy, the spirit purred, **"See anything you like, silly ork?"**

**.**

With that phrase, the glamour broke with an almost audible snap. Despite its present form, Cole was unable to think of the spirit as anything other that the form he had first seen it in: the little girl calling him a 'silly ork'. He laughed a bit nervously against the faint feeling of malevolence wafting off Piru, but his will was strong. Cole shook his head again and simply said, **"Not a chance."**

**.**

With his final refusal, the spirit's visage devolved into outrage. It actually stamped its foot and screamed, **"I never get to have any fun!"** Piru turned in fury and stalked away, this time its footfalls quite noisy, the high-heeled pumps clacking. The spirit's form began to glow with the same blue glow. It began to revert to its little girl shape as it moved away, fading from sight and sound.

.

Just before the spirit vanished, Cole saw (or thought he saw) the faintest hint of something large and reptilian somehow coexisting with the stamping girl. Then, to his vast relief, the spirit was gone with a final blue flash.

66


	9. Chapter 7: The Perils of Shopping

Thanks to everyone that is still reading my story. Comments, reviews, or constructive criticism is always welcome. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy:-)

.

.

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Chapter 7: The Perils of Shopping

.

Kill Switch inserted the gold-tipped control wires into his temple jack and started up the Nissan 3440ZX roadster as Akiko adjusted her seatbelt harness. She touched the garage door opener in her pocket as the dwarf turned the roadster around in the loading dock, slightly chirping the tires. As they roared past the lookouts, the gangers briefly raised their long guns in a wave.

.

As Kill Switch drove, Akiko stared just forward of the dwarf out the windshield and watched Downtown Seattle roll past beneath the old I-5. Despite the rain, the city basked in a harsh glow of its own multi-colored light. Seattle never slept anymore. She surreptitiously kept an eye on the dwarf as he threaded the roadster through the late night (or early morning) traffic. Akiko noticed Kill Switch fidgeting in what she assumed was nervousness. She knew her unwavering chrome stare was disconcerting to many. With the cyber replacement, her body's natural blink reflex had slowly atrophied to where she only blinked once every few minutes. Akiko turned her head to the dwarf, even though it was not necessary to keep him under observation. Under her blank-yet-sentient gaze, Kill Switch grew more agitated. Akiko gave him a ghost of a smile, knowing it would add to his discomfort.

.

As she expected, Kill Switch spoke to cover and alleviate his nervousness. **"Sooo..."** he drawled, **"what are you doing for Christmas?"**

**.**

Akiko realized with a start that Christmas and New Year's were, indeed very close. Even though she was born American, Akiko identified herself as Japanese, and tended to not celebrate Western holidays. She remembered the one time her father had brought home a Christmas tree and decorations, and the quiet vehement horror of her traditional mother. Her father had insisted on keeping the tree until the holiday had passed in a vain attempt to integrate his wife into the culture in which they now lived, but had never again crossed her mother's wishes on the subject, even after her death. Akiko had not thought about her mother in years. The Christmas-tree incident had occurred shortly before her mother had committed suicide.

.

Akiko flashed back to the present, subconsciously repressing a barely felt shudder at the memory of her nearly forgotten mother, and the fleeting emotions that memory generated. Realizing Kill Switch was waiting for an answer Akiko replied, **"I have no plans."** Shrugging slightly she added, **"I do not normally honor Christmas."**

**.**

Kill Switch clucked his tongue acknowledgement. He flicked his eyes at Akiko and quietly asked, **"Uh...not even with your...uh...**_**friend**_**, Susie?"**

**.**

Akiko turned to fully face the dwarf, the lights of the city passing below reflected kaleidoscopically off her eyes. Kill Switch looked nonplussed as he quickly added, **"I mean...she's Irish, right?"** When she did not respond the dwarf stammered on, **"Sorry, I just figured..."**

**.**

Akiko cut him of as she said, **"Susie celebrates Christmas...sometimes."** The dwarf nodded in response. In fact, Akiko was surprised that Susie didn't have a tree and decorations up already. Akiko decided that courtesy demanded a reciprocal inquiry to the polite (if inarticulate) question. "**And you?"** she asked.

.

Kill Switch seemed surprised by her return interest. **"Nah, not this year,"** he said as he shrugged and shook his head slightly, **"this run and all, ya' know." **Akiko did not comment. Taking her silence as permission to expound on the subject, Kill Switch did. **"Now if I was home in da' platteland,"** he said, **"we'd have a big old sit-down with the whole family and braai up a steer."** Kill Switch's eyes half closed as his voice turned dreamy, **"We'd make my great auntie's bobotie...a plate fulla hoenderpastei...Malva pudding and ice cream..."**

**.**

Akiko had no idea what most of those things were, though she assumed as he had grouped them with beef, pudding, and ice cream, they must be food of some sort. The dwarf's voice grew softer as he continued reeling off improbable sounding words that must have been Afrikaner delicacies. Akiko saw the vast bulk of the Seattle Convention and Trade Center loom ahead. They passed beneath it, the lighting of the tunnel even more harsh and bright compared to the nighttime city. The sudden transition stopped Kill Switch in mid-sentence. He risked another quick glance at the slim Asian woman, not sure she was listening.

.

The roadster zipped out of the Convention Center tunnel. Off to the right, the main Aztechnology pyramid glowed. The amber and white lights inside the synthetic quartz walls illuminated the Mayan and Aztec heroes that decorated the outside of the stepped pyramid. The stylized figures started moving as they reenacted scenes from Mesoamerican legend. A tourist blimp floated nearby, paid advertisements flashing along its side. Akiko was certain it was full of holiday tourists snapping images and holos of the ever-changing nightly display.

.

Akiko gestured to the stepped pyramid and its surrounding complex as she asked, **"Are we going to the Aztech-Mart?" **They had already passed one of the last remaining IGAs on the west coast. It had become an historical landmark back in the 40's. Kill Switch faced her and shook his head. Akiko raised a pencil-thin eyebrow and asked, **"Then where are we going?"**

**.**

The dwarf sighed and returned his gaze to the road as he said, **"I figured since we had warm wheels, and a lotta hardware, we'd just hit a Stuffer Shack instead."** He looked at her sidelong again and continued,** "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not bask in the glow of the cameras and sensors in the Aztlan Wally World."**

**.**

If Akiko had not known Kill Switch's age, he had revealed it just now with the phrase 'Wally World'. Wal-Mart had ceased to exist within a couple of years after the Crash of '29, and Aztechnology had gobbled up the pieces. She grudgingly nodded in agreement. With the change in location to Susie's place, they now had access to a true kitchen and refrigeration, unlike the unfinished house in Greenwood. A real grocery store would have legitimate food, although Akiko was unsure if any of the crew could actually cook. She and Susie possessed only basic kitchen skills at best. **"You already passed the Stuffer Shack on Madison,"** Akiko said.

.

Kill Switch grinned as he replied, **"Nah, that's too Downtown for us."** The dwarf winked at her and said,** "There's one off Westlake."**

**.**

Traffic slowed down as they approached the Westlake exit. A sudden flurry of brake lights presaged the problem: two squad cars and several Lone Star officers blocked the exit ramp. Kill Switch swore quietly and tried to blend back into the creeping traffic flow. As they passed the exit they could see emergency personnel dragging bodies out of a multi-vehicle wreck. The Doc Wagon EMT's were illuminated in stop motion by the brilliantly strobing Lone Star police lights.

.

"**Welll..."** Kill Switch drawled as they sped back up, **"I guess we could go to the one up in Ravenna."** The dwarf switched lanes as, for the second time in the last eight hours, they crossed the Washington Ship Canal. The light rain abruptly changed to sleet as the roadster reached the midpoint of the Lake Washington Bridge. Kill Switch clucked his tongue in disapproval at the other traffic. The other drivers, unused to the rare precipitation, again slowed down significantly. Akiko heard him muttering. She amped up her hearing to catch the dwarf complaining about the, **"Goddamned tourists..."**

**.**

Clearing the logjam of vehicles, Kill Switch impatiently yanked the roadster down the 8th Street/Ravenna Boulevard exit ramp, at long last abandoning the other nervous drivers. As they descended into the neighborhood, much of the glitz of Downtown proper vanished. The lights and displays grew dimmer and less ubiquitous. More detritus and garbage appeared on the streets, even as the students and tourists from the nearby University District vanished. Deeper shadows appeared between the lights, their populations unseen but still sensed. The occasional joygirl or joyboy was visible, along with the odd wino, tweaker, or BTL-freak. Although Ravenna was no Redmond or even Puyallup, it still paid to be wary...and armed.

.

The dwarven rigger slewed onto Brooklyn Avenue and headed south, barking the tires. Akiko's chrome stare took in the barred windows and heavy doors, and glanced up once at the twin red and blue towers that dominated the Ravenna skyline. They housed Haukshorn Chemicals, and many said at times they gave the neighborhood a unique odor. Just past an adult entertainment establishment, the large red double 'S' of the Stuffer Shack appeared.

.

Kill Switch pulled the Nissan into the parking lot. As he removed the control cables from his temple, Akiko checked the action and safety of her Walther pistol. As she holstered her gun and slipped on a pair of shades to cover her chrome eyes, Kill Switch checked his own sidearm: a spectacularly maintained antique Vektor. Their weapons check finished, they both stepped out into the night.

.

The red plasma tube lights from the storefront glistened off the thin covering of sleet. On her way to the entrance, without even being aware of it, Akiko faded into the shadows along the wall of the building adjacent to the Stuffer Shack. Kill Switch jandered along in the open, stomping with abandon through the partially slush-filled puddles. Stumbling once or twice on the slick, uneven parking lot, he flipped up the collar of his coat and hunched his head down against the freezing rain.

.

With his head down, the dwarf did not see the trio of large orks dashing through the sleet to the entrance. The two of the orks were wearing obvious gang colors; dark blue and a sickening slime green. The bleeding skinned-and-screaming human face that overlaid the clash of colors declared them members of the Bloody Screamers. The third was dressed more nondescript in a simple long dark raincoat. As the ork gangers slid ahead of Kill Switch, one grabbed the dwarf on the top of his head and forcefully shoved him to the side barking, **"Outta the way, halfer."** The dwarf stumbled into the frame of the automatic door as the trio of orks stomped inside, chuckling. The last ork made sure to bump into Kill Switch as he passed, just for good measure.

.

Kill Switch straightened up, the rage of the unjustly oppressed clearly showing on his face. For a brief moment, Akiko thought he was going to go for his pistol and shoot the orks. The dwarf closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and calmed down. Akiko was mildly surprised and slightly impressed at the dwarf's example of self-control. He turned his head back to the slim Japanese woman and sighed as he said, **"Let's just grab the food and get back."**

**. **

They entered the bright lights of the Stuffer Shack. At this time of night, after midnight but before the bars closed, this particular Stuffer Shack had few patrons. The only ones Akiko could see were the three orks that had antagonized Kill Switch, although the number of vehicles in the lot suggested there were at least a couple of more. The two orks wearing the Bloody Screamers colors were moving into the store at large, their companion in the long raincoat was just passing through the restroom door. Under the vacuous gaze of the cashier, she and Kill Switch each grabbed a basket and hit the aisles.

.

Akiko moved quickly up and down the grocery aisles, occasionally catching glimpses of the other few patrons and a second red-smocked employee stocking shelves. She filled her cart almost half full with the myriad of easy-to-prepare items that the Stuffer Shack boasted. She took care to try and avoid those items she knew Susie disliked, namely anything with too much soy. Susie once revealed to Akiko that she grew up on a small farm, and even though she had been poor, soy-less food was always around. In her circuit through the store, Akiko passed Kill Switch twice. Both times he had stopped her, surveyed what she had loaded in her basket, grunted in approval and moved on. Akiko had noticed that his basket contained a large amount of cheap beer, chips, and candy.

.

Akiko rounded the frozen section and headed for the checkout. Of Kill Switch there was no sign. A giggling couple was just finishing their shopping, ineptly slotting a credstick in the reader in front of the bored cashier. Clearly stoned, they took their bags full of junk food and exited just as Akiko reached the dispensing island.

.

Akiko had a sudden desire for some caffeine. Obeying her craving for a soykaf, Akiko angled the basket over to the series of drink nozzles. She had been awake for nearly twenty hours straight, and her fatigue was catching up to her. One of the ork gangers was currently loading up on Soya-Sloppies next to the soykaf machine. The ork gave her a leering look as she parked her basket. Akiko discretely freed up her Walther while placing a disposable cup beneath the soykaf nozzle and keyed the dispenser for max caffeine and sugar.

.

As the hot liquid filled her cup, Akiko sensed and heard the ork easing up beside her. As she reached for the steaming cup the ork rumbled, **"I ain't seen you in here before, chica."**

**.**

Akiko turned her head to face the ork. He was leaning on the counter, holding an Epic-sized cup of Sloppies. In his slouched position she could see the grips of a pair of Browning pistols in shoulder holsters. He grinned at her and extended his very pink tongue to the large diameter straw-spoon protruding from the cup. Two stainless studs adorned the length of the muscle, with a final gold barbell piercing the rather disturbingly pointed tip. As he wrapped his glistening, freakishly long tongue around the straw, the ork bobbed his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

.

Akiko took a sip of her soykaf before it lost too much of its heat. Shaking her head as she turned to her basket she said, **"You are not my type."**

**.**

The ork rose up to his full height and chuckled. He smoothly blocked her path, bumping her basket into a display. **"Aw c'mon, sweetie! I got the yellow-fever so bad,"** he wheedled. The ork leaned down to her and said in a quiet, low voice, "**I'm yer type. We can have a **_**real **_**good time. My key fits every girl's lock."**

**.**

She pulled the basket out of the display to leave. The ork grabbed the side of the cart and leaned in closer. He waggled his eyebrows again and whispered, **"A full eleven...unclipped...an' I can lick my eyebrows."**

**.**

As the ganger leaned in closer, Akiko was surrounded in a miasma of booze fumes, pot smoke, old sweat, and soy breath. She snapped out the razors in her left hand, used the razors to lower her shades, gave him a flash of her Chiba chrome and waggled the chopped-short pinkie at him. The ork pursed his lips and sucked in a breath in admiration. **"Buzz, chummer,"** she said quietly, now all business.** "Too much trouble for you here."**

**.**

The ork stood back up straight and popped out a set of notched claws from the back of the empty hand. Grinning widely with a lustful gleam in his eye the ork said, **"I can play that game too, chica."**

**.**

He opened his mouth to speak again, but before the words came a yelled, **"HANDS OFF THE WOMAN YOU DIRTY FUCKING TROG!" **cut him off. The ork spun around quickly, his claws retracting as he reached inside his coat for the pistols, throwing his huge cup of Soya-Sloppies to the side. The ork was fast, but not fast enough to avoid having most of his face blown off from a blast of buckshot. A spray of red covered the soykaf machine, liberally sprinkled with grey bits and chunks. The ork's body stumbled backwards two steps before collapsing into the display next to Akiko's basket, the red ruin of his face pumping blood onto the tile floor.

.

Akiko dove down behind the dispenser island as four men in red and green bandanas near the entrance started shooting wildly across the store. All of the new arrivals wore gang flashes from the Troll Killers, an all-human gang from further south around Wolf Bay. As their name suggested, the gang went out of its way to kill trolls and orks.

.

Akiko reached out from her cover and tugged the dead ork's Browning pistols loose. She quickly checked each pistol's magazine, action, and chamber. The second ork ganger appeared from the back of the store and fired back, grazing one of the 'Killers before dashing off toward the frozen section. Akiko heard the human gangers whoop as two of them charged into the store after the second 'Screamer. They abruptly started chanting, **"Trog hunt! Trog hunt! Trog hunt!"** as they spread out, both of them exchanging fire with the ork. The remaining two, one with a Street Sweeper shotgun, the other with an older model Uzi, stayed behind to cover the door.

.

Akiko heard screaming, sporadic shots, and glass shattering from near the middle of the store. The two humans kept up their chanting, trying to flush out the ork. Akiko had only a moment to wonder about Kill Switch before a flicker of movement caught her eye. In her peripheral vision she saw the bathroom door crack open. Akiko shifted her vision to thermal and saw the last ork, the one that had not been wearing 'Screamers colors, cautiously peeking out from the crack.

.

Abruptly, a short, slender man came tearing around from the frozen section: one of the Stuffer Shack patrons trying to get out of the way. He skidded up short with a yelp as he saw the two Troll Killers standing at the door. The ganger with the Uzi spun to face the man, activating the laser sight on his submachinegun. The slender man threw his arms up high, eyes closed, body trembling, the blue spot of the laser sight bright against his sternum. The man whimpered as a large patch of dark wetness spread across the crotch of his khaki pants. The telltale sound of liquid dripping on tile followed.

.

The ganger with the Uzi snickered and turned to his comrade, the blue laser dot dancing wildly across the floor and Doritos display as he lowered the submachinegun. **"Holy shite, Kyle, this slot-head just pissed hisself!"** the ganger said, drawing a chuckle from his shotgun-toting comrade. In that moment of distraction, the last ork in the bathroom made his move.

.

With a dull boom, the ork kicked open the bathroom door. The urine-stained man and both of the Troll Killers jerked around at the noise. The ork charged from the bathroom, his long raincoat flapping, firing a Norinco WP-3 assault rifle from the hip. The Uzi-toting Troll Killer caught the first burst, catching several rounds in his torso. The ganger jerked and twisted as he fell to the floor. As he went down his muscles clenched in death, inadvertently squeezing off a scattered burst of his own, catching the terrified civilian. The slender man shrieked once, the shriek changing into a gurgle as he dropped to the floor, the blood pumping from his chest and groin mixing on the tile with his small puddle of liquid waste.

.

Kyle swung his Street Sweeper around, snapping off a quick blast as he ducked down behind the Doritos. The ork continued running, making straight for the entrance, even as Kyle ran opposite, deeper into the store. Both continued exchanging shots, the ork's rounds peppering the chip aisle, interspersed with the slower booms of Kyle's shotgun. As they fired wildly at each other, the entire chip display exploded into a multihued cloud. A blizzard of corn and soy chips, pretzels, soy puffs, nachos, and snack nuts rained down as the two gangers ran. Buckshot and ricochet rounds pattered around Akiko, damaging the dispenser machines, causing hot soykaf, soda pop, and other less recognizable fluids to spew across the island. The spraying liquids caused sparks to jump as some of the electronics shorted out. Akiko caught the scent of ozone and then rancid smoke.

.

Both gangers stopped at opposite ends of the aisle. From her vantage point, Akiko saw them both reloading, the ork flipping his jungle-style magazines, Kyle frantically ramming fresh twelve gauge shells into his drum. From the back of the store more gunfire erupted, ending with a groaning yell. Akiko made sure her reflexes were at the maximum, clicked off the safeties on her appropriated pistols, and prepared to jump up to eliminate both gangers. It was at this moment that the employee behind the checkout counter chose to make an appearance.

.

Like some sort of obscene, red-smocked jack-in-the-box, the Stuffer Shack cashier popped up from behind the register. He had a stubby, nickel-plated Smith and Wesson revolver clutched tightly in both hands. With a yell he fired at the ork, yanking the trigger. All of the cashier's rounds went wide, striking the demolished chip aisle, the floor, the ceiling, and even the simsense game bank, but not a single one hitting the ork. He continued to keep pulling the trigger onto the empty cylinder as the ork brought the now reloaded Norinco around. With a savage, toothy smile, the ork gave him a quick three round burst. The cashier was blown back against the lottery ticket machine and then slumped out of sight, leaving a crimson smear.

.

Using the cashier's impromptu diversion, Akiko leapt out from behind the island, putting two rounds high into Kyle's torso. The rounds lifted the Troll Killer off his feet to land heavily onto the snack-covered floor, his shotgun clattering next to him. The ork swung away from the cashier even as Akiko changed direction midstride and ran at him, vaulting over the body of the first dead 'Screamer. As it often did when her reflexes were amped to the maximum, time slowed for Akiko, the ork seeming to move in slow motion as the barrel of the Chinese assault rifle came up and around. Akiko fired both Browning pistols again, one round hitting the ork in the shoulder, the other in the belly. The ork folded up, falling to the floor, dropping his rifle. Sliding to a stop she kicked the rifle away from his hands. Leaning against the remains of the chip display sweating and bleeding, the ork desperately tried to remove something from under his coat, but Akiko was unwilling to give him the chance. She shot him twice again, his body twitching then slumping. She put one of her pistols to his head and fired once more to make sure, the left side of the ork's skull exploding against the ruins of the Doritos display. She quickly backtracked and verified that Kyle had no pulse. Akiko put one extra round through Kyle's head just as he instructors taught her so long ago. Akiko stopped and listened, her enhanced hearing detecting no other sounds from the rear of the store. She wondered if Kill Switch lay injured, or if he was simply hiding. In the sudden quiet, Akiko heard a man groaning.

.

She turned to see the cashier struggling to crawl to the front door. He collapsed on his front within a few feet, making an unusual hissing/wheezing sound. Akiko had heard that sound before: the assault rifle rounds from the ork had given the hapless cashier a sucking chest wound. Akiko knelt down beside him and rolled the cashier over onto his side. The movement caused fresh blood to flow as the dark red stains spread across his chest and back. Without medical attention, he would surely die soon. She saw the glint of a chipjack behind his right ear. Smiling slightly, Akiko placed her confiscated pistols on the floor and fished around in her jacket for her simsense recorder to record his dying feelings and emotions so she could experience them later at her leisure.

.

Akiko's enhanced hearing suddenly picked up stealthy footfalls behind her, interrupting her ritual. She rolled behind the counter, even as the last Troll Killer fired. She felt a brief instant of pain as one of his bullets impacted with her armored jacket and passed through her left upper arm. The others missed her completely as her chipped reflexes gave her the speed she needed to escape further injury. The Stuffer Shack cashier was not so lucky: at least one of the rounds meant for her impacted his chest, creating another maroon bloom. The cashier slumped again, his glassy stare clouding over as the final bit of life drained out of him.

.

As the Troll Killer started to run to the counter, Akiko drew her Walther and popped up from behind the register just like the cashier had only a few moments before. The ganger tried to alter his run and aim to compensate for her new position, but was too slow for Akiko's reflexes. She shot him through the neck once and dropped back down, fast enough that in the last few moments of his life, the Troll Killer wasn't even sure he saw her. The ganger pitched over dead, his pistol clattering and skipping.

.

Akiko peeked around the counter, and then stood when she saw no more assailants. She stripped off her jacket and inspected her wound: the bullet had passed through the meat of her left triceps, luckily missing the bone and anything else vital. There wasn't even much blood. Akiko flexed her wounded arm causing pain and more blood to flow, but she felt little loss of movement. There would be time to check it more thoroughly in the car.

.

She leapt the counter easily and headed into the store to search for Kill Switch. On her way, Akiko glanced once at the most recently dead Troll Killer: for some reason blood covered the fingers of one hand. A small fire burned on the dispensing island, the smoldering soykaf and other liquids giving off a terrible stench. She walked through the wreckage of the store, carefully stepping around and over leaking cans, blown-apart boxes, and dripping cartons. In the first aid aisle Akiko grabbed two slap bandages and applied them to her gunshot wound before slipping back into her jacket . She found no pain-killing patches, but at least the bleeding would stop. As she cautiously searched the rest of the store, Akiko passed three bodies: a Stuffer Shack employee, a female shopper, and the other Troll Killer. To her professional eye it appeared that the bystanders had been killed in the crossfire. The body of the last Bloody Screamer lay sprawled in front of one of the food freezers. Above his body, smeared in what appeared to be his blood, were the words '_No Trogs_'.

.

As Akiko passed a large stacked display of canned beer she heard a hoarse whisper say, **"Haai...haai, girlie, is that you out there?"**

**.**

"**Yes, it is me," **she replied, stopping. Akiko looked over the top of the stacked cases to see a hollow area on the center, inside of which crouched Kill Switch. A look of relief passed over his face as he engaged the Vektor's safety and then stashed the pistol.

.

The dwarf held out his hand and asked, **"Give a bra a hand, will ya'?"**

**.**

She holstered her own gun and reached over the beer to grasp Kill Switch's hand. Akiko grunted in exertion as she helped the dwarf out of his hiding place. She knew dwarves were dense, but either Kill Switch was heavier than he looked or her weariness was greater than she thought. He dropped gracelessly to the floor, grabbed his shopping cart, and continued on their interrupted shopping trip.

.

He sensed she wasn't following, and turned back to Akiko. Kill Switch gave her a wry grin and a jerk of his head as he said, **"Come on. We still need to grab our stuff before Lone Star gets here."** He quickly stumped away. Akiko was unsure he was serious, until he continued filling his basket as if nothing had happened.

.

She quickly returned to the dispenser island for her basket, only to find the island burning more than before. Akiko snagged her basket and quickly added more items, filling it to the top. She wondered briefly why the fire alarm and sprinklers had not gone off, but chalked it up to the ineptitude of the management to maintain the system.

.

Kill Switch trotted around the corner, pushing one full cart and pulling another partially full. A wide grin split his face as he glanced once at the smoldering fire at the soykaf machine and said, **"Good idea."** The dwarf slung the half-full basket around to Akiko and tossed her the car remote. **"Here: take this out to the Nissan,"** he said as he turned his back and quickly walked back into the store.

.

Akiko took the proffered basket and dragged it, with her full one, out into the continuing freezing rain. Now that the adrenalin had worn off, her gunshot wound was starting to ache. Akiko navigated the icy broken surface of the parking lot, each jolt of the baskets causing fresh pain in her wounded arm. Popping the trunk she loaded in the groceries, quickly filling the small space. A fleeting memory of a gripe about the 3440ZX claimed the trunk was '_large enough for a set of golf clubs and not much else_' rose in Akiko's mind. After seeing the trunk, she agreed wholeheartedly with the assessment. What wouldn't fit in the diminutive trunk, Akiko threw in the miniscule space behind the seats. She wondered what they were going to do with the rest of the supplies.

.

Akiko turned to go back into the store, when Kill Switch abruptly came running out of the Stuffer Shack, pushing his overladen basket ahead of him. He slipped once on the uneven surface of the parking lot, eliciting a barked, **"Gefok!"** from him as he fell on his backside, the basket rolling away. Akiko took advantage of her reflexes and grabbed the basket before it capsized.

.

As Kill Switch climbed to his feet he said, **"I figured with all this crap it wouldn't hurt to grab you another vehicle, so I checked the gangers for bike remotes." **He reached in his pocket and tossed her another remote fob. She deftly snatched it out of the air as he continued, "**One of our young friends inside was riding a Yamaha Switchblade, and I thought that was the best one of the lot."**

**.**

Akiko was surprised that the dwarf had gone out of his way to pick her a slick bike. It was a courteous gesture. She gave a short bow of her head as she said, **"Thank-you, Kill Switch. That was most kind."**

**.**

"**Null sheen, girlie,"** he replied. The dwarf checked his timepiece and said, **"But I think we need to jet. Lone Star is probably already on their way."** He grinned, looked sidelong back at the Stuffer Shack and added, **"Plus that Willie Pete grenade I left in the office on the camera controller is set to go off in less than two minutes."**

**.**

It took Akiko a moment to connect 'Willie Pete' with the incendiary white phosphorus. **"Then we should leave immediately,"** she replied.

.

The dwarf winked at her and said, **"My thinking exactly."** He took control of the basket from her and held out his hand for the roadster's remote. Akiko tossed it to him as she dashed over to the motorcycle rack and mounted the Switchblade. Just as they both rolled into the street, the white phosphorus grenade went off inside the Stuffer Shack. There wasn't much of an explosion, per se', just a muffled _bang._ A deep terrible _whoosh_, a blindingly bright fire, and a cloud of white smoke followed that.

.

Akiko rode point with barely a glance rearward to make sure Kill Switch followed, trusting the dwarf would keep up. Her new bike was wonderfully maintained, and performed flawlessly as she rocketed back down the I-5. She was forced to slow down as they passed the Renraku arcology: the sleet was building up, making the roadway treacherous. Akiko cultivated a proper Japanese stoicism, but the freezing rain and the now throbbing arm wound made her want to get inside and warm.

.

As they turned onto Massachusetts Avenue, Akiko didn't see the lookouts. She quickly flipped her vision to thermal, but could still find no trace: they had vanished. Akiko hoped it was only the freezing rain that had driven them home. She and Kill Switch pulled into the lower level loading dock. Akiko scanned the dock area with her thermal vision and saw what she assumed was Cole covering them with his machinegun from inside the flatbed.

.

Before they had even parked their respective vehicles, Cole stepped out of the flatbed leaving his machinegun in the cab. The tall ork stretched and twisted as he waited for them to park. Sauntering over to them and he said to Akiko, **"Nice bike."**

**.**

"**Indeed it is,"** Akiko replied as she rocked the Yamaha back onto its stand.

.

Kill Switch unhooked his control cables and exited the Nissan. As he walked to the rear of the roadster Cole said, **"You guys were gone pretty long. Any problems?"**

**.**

Akiko shrugged and said, **"Nothing out of the ordinary."**

**.**

Kill Switch snorted as he opened the trunk of the Nissan. As the dwarf started unloading the supplies he said, **"Just a coupla north-side gangers deciding to bring their disagreement into the store."**

**.**

"**Where are our lookouts?"** Akiko asked.

.

Cole shrugged and said, **"About a half-hour ago they came inside and said they were calling it a night because of the sleet. I told them we could take it from here."**

**. **

Nodding, Akiko looked inside the passenger window of the roadster: except for the driver's seat the entire inside of the car was packed with food and beverages. Opening the door carefully so as not to let all of the boxes and bags fall out, she grabbed several frozen items. Her right arm full, Akiko turned to Kill Switch and Cole and said, **"If it is all right with both of you, I will carry this upstairs and then properly tend my wound."**

**.**

Cole and the dwarf looked at each other confusedly. His brow furrowed, Kill Switch asked, **"Did you catch one back at the Stuffer Shack, girlie?" **Akiko nodded. The dwarf shook his head and asked, **"Why didn'tcha say something?"**

**.**

Akiko shrugged and said, **"It would not have helped. I was in no danger of being incapacitated and the wound had a negligible impact on my abilities."** The slim Asian woman sighed and continued, **"But the pain is increasing and I have not cleaned it properly. Can the two of you take the remainder of the supplies upstairs?"**

**.**

Looking embarrassed, Cole said, **"Uh...yeah, sure, Akiko. We can get this stuff. Go take care of yourself."**

**. **

Akiko bobbed her head once and said, **"**_**Arigato.**_**"** She turned and walked up the stairs, leaving Cole and Kill Switch to carry up the groceries.

.

Both males watched her go. Once she was up the stairs Cole crossed his arms and looked down at Kill Switch in disapproval. The dwarf caught the look and held up his hands defensively as he said, **"Hey, hold on, chummer. How was I supposed to know? She never even let on that she got hit."** The ork didn't look convinced. Uneasy with the scrutiny and implied rebuke the dwarf grumbled, **"Come on you big tree: let's get this shite upstairs and grab some sack time."**

**.**

Akiko trudged up the dark stairwell, exhaustion nearly overcoming her. At the first level she switched her eyes to low light, as the entire room was dark. The diminutive form of Copper Neon sat curled up on the stuffed chair, eyes closed but consciousness away in cyberspace. Zig and Zag laid stretched out on the couch and floor, blankets tucked up around their chins. Akiko briefly considered getting a beer but decided a shower and bed sounded better. Continuing up onto the next level, Akiko flipped her vision to thermographic briefly as she glanced into Susie's bedroom. Sure enough, Susie's body heat blazed from underneath the covers on the queen-size bed.

.

Once in the bathroom she slowly took off her soiled clothing, carefully folding each item and placing them to the side, her Walther and holster on top. Even in the depths of her exhaustion she could not set aside her manners and tidiness. She peeled back the slap bandages, breaking the weak scabs and causing a fresh seeping of blood. Akiko turned on the water and stepped into the shower. She used the soap and antiseptic to cleanse the wound, wincing slightly in further pain at the burn. Leaning slumped against the acrylic wall, she stood for a long time under the water. Akiko felt the change in pressure as someone else (probably Kill Switch) used the downstairs shower.

.

Once she noticed a definitive change in the water temperature she stepped out. After drying off, Akiko sprayed more antiseptic into her wound and then covered it with fresh adhesive bandages. She searched through Susie's cabinet for a painkiller and antibiotic patch, eventually finding both. Akiko applied both patches to her neck and looked at her dirty yet carefully folded clothing. Except for the outfit she wore to the Inferno on Saturday, everything she had was at the safehouse in the Greenwood housing complex. She couldn't bring herself to climb back into the filthy clothing, deciding to borrow some from Susie. Her friend's clothes would be a bit big (Susie had a larger chest, hips, and bottom than Akiko), but without other options, the larger clothing would have to do.

.

Akiko turned off the bathroom light and flipped her vision back to low light. She walked down the hallway to Susie's bedroom, unmindful of her nudity except for the air temperature; the air was quite chilly. Wondering if the heat was working, Akiko turned up her hearing to listen and detected the sounds of the furnace beneath the noise of the freezing rain hitting the windows and roof. Akiko quickly traversed the hallway, bundle of clothes and pistol under her arm, the chill in the air raising goose bumps across her skin and tightening her nipples, hoping the antique furnace warmed the large building soon.

.

Once in the bedroom, she quickly and quietly went through Susie's dresser, selecting sweats and a t-shirt. Akiko picked her way across the room, stepping around her friend's casually scattered gear. She slipped under the covers; grateful for the warmth Susie had spread throughout the bed. Akiko carefully slipped her hand under Susie's pillow, verifying the Colt Manhunter was there. As long as she had known Susie, the mage had slept with the same heavy pistol under her pillow. Akiko rolled over to lie on her back and carefully set her Walther on the nightstand. Setting her internal alarm for six hours from now, she turned off her eyes and waited for sleep to claim her. Akiko's stomach grumbled lightly in hunger, but her fatigue was greater, and it was far too warm and comfortable in the bed to bother going downstairs to eat.

.

Sometime later Akiko awoke. She glanced at the still dark windows and quickly checked the time in her head: it had only been two hours since she had set her head alarm. Akiko turned her eyes back on and scanned the room with each type of vision, finding nothing that could have awoken her.

.

Suddenly she felt Susie twitch. Akiko and Susie, both used to sleeping without someone in the bed, had naturally gravitated towards the center. Akiko felt Susie's hip bump against her side, and heard her friend mumble in her sleep. She was surprised to feel Susie trembling in her sleep, almost as if she were shivering. Akiko flipped her vision back to thermographic and looked at her friend to see if her body temperature had dropped: it had not. As always, Susie's body glowed with its typical furnace heat. Unsure how to interpret her friend's behavior, Akiko quickly ran through a few scenarios in her head, and came to a conclusion. She reached out and lay a hand on the mage's shoulder, thinking to wake her from whatever dream she was having.

.

Susie's reaction was surprising. She immediately rolled over to face Akiko and curled up into a fetal position, her head resting at Akiko's side and on her belly. Susie's arm shot across Akiko's lap to tightly clutch her hip. She felt the heat of Susie's body envelope her as the mage clung tightly. Susie continued to tremble and mutter. Akiko cautiously put her arm around Susie and lightly held her. As Susie shook, Akiko heard her softly saying something. Trying to discern the problem Akiko turned up her hearing to listen.

.

"**No,"** Susie softly moaned. **"No...please stop...please."** Her friend took a hitching breath and spoke again, **"Please don't...**_**please, don't**_**."** Susie gave a muffled sob and said,** "It **_**hurts**_**...it **_**always**_** hurts...please don't hurt me anymore...**_**please**_**?"** She quietly gasped and gave a whimpering moan, then wept silently.

.

As Akiko felt her side and belly grow damp from Susie's tears, she was uncertain what to do. Most emotions eluded her, and she felt unequipped to analyze them in others. Akiko simply kept her hand on Susie's back, hoping whatever it was that was haunting her friend would pass.

.

As Akiko stared out into the room, her thermographic vision detected a small spot of colder air. She turned her head to focus on the spot: it hung in space above the chair in the corner, next to Susie's dressing table, slowly growing in size. Akiko quickly flipped her vision to low light but saw nothing in the spot. She went back to thermographic and picked up her pistol, aiming it at the center mass of the colder area.

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A girlish giggle sounded quietly in the room. **"You can't shoot me, Akiko,"** a small voice said.

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Akiko dropped her arm and engaged the safety on her Walther. **"Hello, Piru,"** she said quietly. In Akiko's vision the cold area became very large, much larger in size than the little girl form Piru usually adopted. She flipped her vision once more back to low light and saw the spirit primly sitting in the corner chair, smiling enigmatically, the eyes small bits of madly dancing flame.

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Taking a deep breath Piru quietly said, **"Can you feel her fear? The energy from it is almost intoxicating."**

**.**

Akiko was taken slightly aback. In all of the years she had known Susie, Akiko had never seen her afraid. **"Susie is afraid of nothing,"** Akiko stated.

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Piru leaned back in the chair and crossed its arms. It dropped the smile and said, **"Yes you're right: Susie is afraid of nothing."** Piru twisted some of the curls around its finger and looked at Akiko sidelong. The spirit's smile returned as it said, **"But **_**Tabitha**___**on the other hand..."**

**.**

That was something Akiko had not considered. She had always thought of Susie as...Susie. **"You can sense her fear?"** she asked.

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Piru gave Akiko a contemptuous look that would have done Susie credit. "Of course I can," it said sharply. "Her paralyzing fear...her pain...her despair...her burning shame and embarrassment...her anger, and her white-hot hate, each one worth savoring," Piru said. The spirit cocked its head to one side and added, "And I can feel her...deep caring for you. Even in the depths of this current experience, she knows you are here."

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Akiko did not know what to think. There was a small glowing point deep inside of the grey fog that usually comprised her emotions. She was...happy...that Susie was her friend, and trusted her. Beyond that, her feelings were still the typical blankness. Akiko cradled that small bright point, much as she cradled her friend.

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Piru watched Akiko struggle to make sense of her feelings. Abruptly the spirit stood and said, **"I'll see you later, Akiko."** Silently it walked out of the room, fading by the time it had reached the doorway.

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Not knowing how to help her friend, Akiko dredged her memory for appropriate action. An image of her long-dead father arose, a memory of him trying to comfort her after her mother's death, not that she had truly needed it. Akiko slowly stroked Susie's curly hair, much as Akiko's father had stroked her own, after her mother had committed suicide.

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Within a few minutes Susie suddenly relaxed, going limp. Akiko listened to her breathing as it steadied and evened out, and judged that her friend had entered a deeper, more restful sleep. Not wishing to risk ruining what rest Susie was able to garner, Akiko did not try to disengage the arm around her hips. She simply snuggled down and tried to reclaim her sleep.

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But sleep was elusive for Akiko as she thought over what Piru had said: that Susie knew no fear, but Tabitha did. She knew Susie could be full of anger, maybe even hate, but could not imagine what caused her friend to despair or feel shame. Akiko mulled over what she knew of Susie's early life, before she had set aside the name of her birth. She knew her friend's real name, of course, but realized beyond that many details were absent. Akiko knew that she grew up on a farm, and that, just like Akiko herself, she was from Ohio and all of her family was dead. Susie sometimes mentioned a grandmother, but always with affection and love, and regret. She knew Susie had attended and graduated MIT&T, and that her first job was with Saeder-Krupp, where she met her Charles who had introduced her to the shadows.

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As Akiko examined her knowledge and tried to tease her memory for further details she might have accumulated, sleep finally overtook her. As her thoughts drifted slowly into dreams, Akiko's last cognizant thought was a question: what past spectre or present demon could have created such fear in her friend?

78


	10. Chapter 8: To Sleep Perchance to Dream

Sorry for the delay, I was trying to post chapters every ten days or so. This chapter has some rather strong themes in it, although no more than any other typical modern novel. That was the cause for the delay as I wanted a few more folks to read it first, to make sure I wasn't too strong.

If you want to skip the uncomfortable part, scroll past Susie's dream, (it starts at the second line of asterisks). Although like the other dreams, it does give more insight to the character.

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Return to Sender Chapter 8: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

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After helping Kill Switch with the supplies, Cole settled down across the bench seat in the cab of the flatbed. He knew he could sleep upstairs on the floor like Zag, but he would rather stay close to the box. In truth, that strange spirit, Piru, had freaked him out a bit. With a true soldier's skill, Cole was asleep within moments of pulling up his blanket and closing his eyes.

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As he had gotten older, Cole had dreamed less and less, but tonight was an exception. He floated through multi-colored clouds of varying densities until he arrived at the scene of his dream. Cole walked through the hallowed halls of Virginia Military Institute on his way to an exam with a spring in his step. He and most of the Ratline had passed Resurrection Week less than two days ago and Cole was now counted as an official fourth-class student. He was a Rat no longer.

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He stopped in front of the glass trophy and picture case. A legion of the famous Virginians of the last two centuries stared out at him, their faces captured by painting, tintype, photograph, holo, and even a daguerreotype or two. To be here at VMI filled his young soul with pride. He was here among the halls where giants once roamed. He caught a quick reflection of himself, and his dreaming body twitched: he saw the human face of his youth staring in the glass. Cole checked the grey cadet uniform to make sure it was in order before dashing off to his exam.

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He slipped into the hushed examination room. Judging by the number of other cadets already in the room, it appeared he was the last one to arrive. A few other cadets looked up at him, one girl smiling. The remainder were previewing the material one last time before the exam started. Cole pulled the brim of an imaginary hat to the young lady, causing her to blush slightly and look away shyly.

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Professor Adelaide tapped his pointer on the lectern even as Cole sat down. The professor made no comment on Cole's near tardiness merely gave him a disapproving frown. Professor Adelaide checked his timepiece and pressed a button on the lectern. Cole heard the door lock, preventing any students from entering until after the examination, and proving he was the last to arrive. **"Ladies and gentlemen please run your thumb over the digital paper on your desks and begin your examination,"** the professor said.

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Cole did as ordered, waiting for the computer to send his examination to the tablet. Within seconds, his personalized test on "Fundamentals of Squad-Based Combat" came up. Cole touched the screen a second time, staring the clock on the two-hour time limit to complete the examination.

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He flew through the test, his stylus dancing across the screen. Every question seemed so simple, every answer leaping out at him. Cole waxed eloquent in the essay section, proving (without a doubt) his assertions on how to use his squad most effectively for the problem. A scraping chair briefly broke his concentration: Sander was getting up and turning in the tablet containing his test. No one ever finished before Cadet Sander, and no one was performing better in classes.

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Cole wrapped up his own test. He carefully went back over the few answers that had caused him a bit of trouble, but in the end changed none of them. He realized he was the second one to complete the exam. _"Right behind Sander the Sandman...not too shabby,"_ Cole thought with a bit of pride. His chair also scraped the floor as he stood and walked to the front of the room with his digital test paper. The girl that had smiled at him earlier was watching him, a look of wistful longing in her eyes. He tugged the imaginary brim to her again as he tried to remember her name for future reference...Betty, that was it.

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On his way to the front of the room, Cole suddenly began to sweat and feel lightheaded. He swayed briefly, catching himself on the corner of Professor Adelaide's desk. The professor looked up at him and noticed Cole's demeanor. **"Is there something wrong, Cadet Beam?"** he asked quietly.

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Cole shook his head, but couldn't find his voice. Abruptly the collar of his uniform seemed too tight, and he was unable to draw a breath. Cole's eyes rolled up into his head, his body giving a single jerking paroxysm. He dropped to the floor, his test tablet clattering next to him. The entire room gasped as Cole collapsed to the floor. Professor Adelaide jumped up from behind his desk to help the stricken cadet. Cole started to thrash around, knocking into the front row of desks. Two other male cadets rushed to the front of the room and tried to help the professor restrain Cole. Through the thunder of the blood in his ears Cole faintly heard Professor Adelaide shout, **"Sander, run to the infirmary: NOW!"**

**.**

Cole was in immense pain, his entire body felt as if it were being crushed. He tore at his uniform collar to try and help himself breathe, ripping the tunic and causing a cascade of buttons to rain on the floor. As his convulsions grew more severe the two classmates and the professor tried to hold him down. His back arched upward as a tearing scream finally escaped his lips. The scream turned to a gurgle as Cole's pain reached a new crescendo. Then he began to change.

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His body began to grow, splitting the seams on his trousers, uniform tunic, and his shoes. Before everyone's horrified eyes, his skin thickened and took on a greenish cast. All over his body his hair grew denser and more coarse, his forehead and brow thicker. As he howled in pain, Cole's lower jaw lengthened and became more prominent, even as his formerly straight white teeth grew craggy and pointed, and long.

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With his goblinization mostly complete, the pain subsided a bit. Cole's sweat-slick body suddenly relaxed, limp in the grip of his classmates and instructor. He heard several gasps from the frightened onlookers, and one female wail of anguish. Cole blearily raised his hand into his vision to view the claw-like appendage it had become. He collapsed back to the floor, slowly slipping away into blessed unconsciousness.

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As Cole faded, he absently noted he had lost control of his bladder during his goblinization: just the icing on top of the cake. With his last bit of conscious thought, he tasted the ashes of his dreams, his tears wetting his cheeks. Now he would never have his chance to join the other Virginians on the wall of honor, never claim his rightful place in Virginian society. Cole felt Professor Adelaide squeeze his shoulder and quietly say, **"Too bad...oh too bad. I am **_**so**_** sorry, son."**

**.**

Cole turned his new face away from the professor's pity and the gawks of his classmates, the tears now following a different course across his face. He distantly heard a blast of noise as a pair of medical attendants burst into the room. _"Son..."_ Cole thought as men from the infirmary placed him onto a stretcher. _"My God!" _he thought, "_what will my mother say?"_

_._

Cole heaved himself awake, and promptly crashed his head into the roof of the truck cab. Wincing in pain, he swiped at the tears on his face. He hadn't dreamed of that long-ago day in quite some time. Shaking his head to clear away the ghosts and cobwebs, he climbed down out of the truck. After that dream, he was certain sleep would no longer come. Luckily, the grey morning light was visible beyond the barred and boarded windows. Cole thought he could hear music and laughter from up the stairs. Checking his timepiece, he decided it was time to get some of the breakfast he smelled.

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Cole suddenly had an overwhelming feeling someone was behind him, that someone was watching him. He quickly spun and drew his Predator heavy pistol in a single fluid motion. When he saw, his jaw dropped open. Shakily putting away his pistol Cole thought, _"Maybe breakfast will have to wait."_

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Kill Switch flopped around on the loveseat, trying to make it more comfortable. His thick beard was still damp, but he had dried it the best he could without his typical hair dryer. After the very long day, he welcomed sleep, despite the fact he was apprehensive at letting down his guard in the Irish witch's house. Out of habit his hand fiddled with the magical amulet hanging around his neck. He finally surrendered to the needs of his body, slipping into slumber, and dreams.

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Kill Switch's dream began, as did many people's, with memories and feelings of pursuit and flight. He had escaped his attackers momentarily, and leaned against the wall of a Port Elizabeth building to catch his breath. He gulped the thick air, trying to ease the burning in his chest, lamenting once again that the shortness of his legs prevented him from outdistancing his pursuers. _"Someday,"_ he thought, _"I'll get wired reflexes for more speed."_ Even as he thought it, he knew that was a pipe dream. Reflexes would improve his speed but would probably only increase it to the speed of an average full-size man.

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Obeying his instinct that he had stayed still too long, Kill Switch took flight and once again he ran off into the night, panting heavily. The dwarf heard a heavy metallic coughing noise, one he had heard before: a net gun. He jigged left in an attempt to evade the flying trap, but to no avail. The weighted net tightly wrapped around his diminutive body and knocked him to the ground, hard. Kill Switch struggled against the unyielding fibers as three masked men approached. Two squatted down and held him while he tried to fight as the third used a hypospray to inject something into his neck. Within a few seconds all was black.

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An indeterminate time later his consciousness returned but Kill Switch was not certain he had awoken. Everything was still black, and his limbs felt disconnected. It seemed he was floating in a void. He thrashed about and felt a small bit of resistance to his flailing arms and legs, yet felt nothing solid beneath his feet. He began to breath more quickly only to realize another fact: he could hear nothing, not even his own breath. Kill Switch screamed yet made absolutely no sound. He could feel his breath leaving his mouth, but not even the slightest noise reached his ears. He touched his chest and could feel no heartbeat. Kill Switch could feel resistance against his hands and chest but they were numb, his fingers and hands felt like they were wrapped in fluff. The dwarf knew his heart must be racing but he could not sense his pulse. It should have been thundering in his head.

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Kill Switch began to panic. Like most dwarves he had a deep-seated, almost pathological, fear of wide-open empty places. Almost all dwarves were most comfortable if they had walls and ceilings surrounding them and as such they rarely lived out in the open. Although in the cities (as the stars were nigh on invisible), they often felt the canopy of light pollution was a roof of sorts. With all sorts of wild thoughts coursing through his brain, Kill Switch wondered if some mage had brought him into a netherworld, some sort of plane where there were no sensations. The horror of that thought drove him even further towards shrieking madness. He was an avid fan of simsense (even occasionally delving into the Better-Than-Life chips). The sensations and feelings the simsense generated were sometimes intoxicating, and satiated his ever-growing adrenaline passion. This utter lack of any senses was too much. Kill Switch screamed again and heard nothing.

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He screamed and wept, thrashed and cried until he thought he should be exhausted, yet he was not. How long Kill Switch drifted on the edge of terrified madness, he truly could not say. When he was about tip over the edge, when he was certain he was never going to be anywhere other than this sensation-less hell, the Voice spoke to him. It said many things: that he was trapped here, that his friends would never find him, that even the wealth of his family would not rescue him, that he would stay here all the days of his life, and that only by telling them what they wanted to know would he be allowed to experience anything outside of this place ever again. The Voice asked only one question, **"What is the security code for your family's mainframe?"**

**.**

Even as an adolescent, Kill Switch knew parts of his family's system were not connected to any outside lines. Whoever was torturing him obviously wanted easy access to those partitioned sections. The dwarf refused to betray his family. The Voice could clearly hear his silent yelling as it responded to the words his brain told him he was making. The Voice replied that he would be kept in this state, forever floating in the void, forever insulated and unable to feel unless he gave them what they wanted. Kill Switch told them off with bravado born of desperation. The Voice paid his silent outbursts no mind, and simply asked the question over and over.

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Kill Switch tried to resist. He attempted to ignore the Voice and sleep, only to find he had too much energy. He twitched and writhed, trying to relax, but his mental and physical state prevented him. All the while the Voice reminded him of his doom, and continuously asked the simple question. Physical torture would have been a welcome to the hollow nothing of wherever he was. To his shame and regret, Kill Switch finally succumbed to the request, and he told the Voice what it wanted to know. Once he capitulated, the Voice tried to sooth him. It told him no one could hold out against what he had experienced, that it was only a small betrayal, that his family would forgive him, and that in time he would rationalize his weakness.

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The Voice abruptly stopped in mid-sentence. Kill Switch noiselessly shrieked again, demanding to be allowed to feel, silently screaming that he had given the Voice what it wanted. As the decade-long seconds ticked by, Kill Switch's shrieks grew more incoherent. His own silent tirade was also cut short, by the light suddenly returning.

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Kill Switch could suddenly see. Crying he turned to the light, viewing a man wearing combat gear lowering himself through a small doorway. Kill Switch, finally with a frame of reference for his senses, turned to the newcomer, squinting against the sudden dazzling brightness. He realized he was floating in a large tank of water. Strange mittens covered his hands and a bizarre wetsuit covered his body.

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The man reached out for Kill Switch and pulled him out of the tank, and more gentle hands lowered him to the floor. He saw other mercenary-types securing what appeared to be techs. Another man, wearing a suit, rushed into the room. Kill Switch recognized him: Jordaan, one of his father's men. Jordaan knelt down next to Kill Switch and pulled off the complicated headset covering the dwarf's face, finally allowing his hearing to return with a roar. Shaking violently, Kill Switch clung to the man in fear. Jordaan held him briefly and said, **"Thank God we found you in time, sir!"**

**.**

Looking over Jordaan's shoulder, Kill Switch saw his father's mercenaries had secured four kidnappers: a fifth lay off to the side, dead in a pool of his own blood. The four survivors sat sullen, their hands ziptied behind them. One of the captives had a headset microphone across his shaved scalp. The captive caught the dwarf looking at him. The man nodded at Kill Switch, and winked.

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Kill Switch sat upright on the loveseat, only barely restraining the gasp that tried to escape his lips. For a moment he did not remember where he was. The dream of his teenage kidnap so strong, he briefly felt this room was the dream. He shook his head to clear the frightening memories.

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Zig and Zag were sitting at Susie's kitchen table. Copper Neon brought the dwarf back to the present. She sashayed past the sitting twins, wearing a maroon shirt covered in little pink hearts, shorts and socks, her long ebony hair tied up in a kerchief. She had her hand raised with a plate full of food, much like a waitress. She smiled at him and said, **"Good **_**MORNING**_**, sunshine!"**

**.**

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Susie's dreams, as they often did, portrayed scenes that appeared as if she were on the astral plane. Of all of the places she liked: the comfort of her loft, the energy of the Downtown District, the safety of her grandmother's kitchen, even the wicked decadence of The Lair, all of those often paled in comparison (though in all fairness the pleasures of The Lair were rarely supplanted). On the astral plane the dross and glamour of the world faded yet everything came so much more into focus. Everything appeared as it really was in that timeless place.

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In this particular dream, Susie appeared as her chosen astral form: an aspect of the goddess Morrigan, the Phantom Queen of Irish myth. With her glossy crow-black wings, metallic indigo robes, and golden flaming sword, she would streak across the world as she reveled in the sheer joy of her power and freedom. And like a thousand other nights, that was how Susie's dream began. In her dream she flew from the roof of her home and flashed east across the Rockies, twisting, swooping and barrel-rolling in sheer delight.

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Susie flew, eyes closed as she allowed the dream to take her where it would. Like all of the magically aware, lucid dreaming came almost naturally, but Susie often let the dreams take her rather than direct them. Eventually she slowed and felt gravity exert its influence, finally drawing her back to earth. With a brilliant smile on her face, Susie opened her heterochromic eyes to see where the dream had taken her. She was slowly spiraling down to a wooded field split by a gravel road. With a feeling of horror, Susie recognized the place immediately: the driveway to her Uncle Sean's farm.

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She snapped her body around and tried to fly away, now exerting her lucid dreaming skills, but the place continued to pull at her. Susie strained with all her might to stop her approach, but she was unable to even slow down. The house and barn were now visible, and growing larger as she rushed to them. It did not matter that she had burned both to the ground; here they were, haunting her dreams once again, the place where she was called _Tabitha_, not Susie.

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The front door of the house was wide open, a black hole sucking her back. Susie knew where it led...to him. It did not matter that she had killed him, tortured him to death in the most painful ways her vengeful mind could imagine, somehow she was being dragged back...to him. She shook and wept, knowing what awaited her across that event horizon. Susie was willing to give anything, absolutely _anything_ not to have to enter that house again.

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She caught herself on the doorway, nearly swallowed by the blackness beyond. As Susie held onto the doorway, the consuming energy pulled at her, no longer silent. Over and over it whispered her name, her real name. It groped at her like a thousand hands roughly touching every part of her body. It stripped the wings from her back, the sword from her waist, then the iridescent robes from her body, and finally the jeweled slippers from her feet. Susie felt her fingers slipping, her nails raking furrows in the wood. She strained and exerted her whole being to try and clear the threshold and not enter, but to no avail. The darkness had her, and would never let go. No matter her will or power, no matter how far she went or what she did, some part of her would _always_ live inside this house, terrified little Tabitha cowering in the darkness, waiting for the monster to come. With a final grasping wrench, the vortex drew Susie in, and threw her back into the past.

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Tabitha was laying in bed, curled up in a fetal position, her backside still afire. The small bedroom was dark, but beyond the open door a light glowed from the living room. She could hear the sound of the antique trideo. Tabitha hated living here, and for the millionth time she wondered what her life would have been like if her grandmother had not died. She didn't have many chores to do around the farm as she lacked the stamina for the truly hard work. Mostly she had to do the cleaning and the cooking (and take the derision for her inept cooking skills as she did not seem to have inherited her grandmother's talent). Earlier she had forgotten to properly arrange her Uncle's idiotic Silly Jilly dolls. Her Uncle Sean discovered the out-of-place 'Schoolgirl' miniature in the wrong position and his hair-trigger temper got the best of him. He beat her with his belt for what had seemed like hours, and then sent Tabitha to bed without the supper she made. She hoped and prayed that, perhaps tonight, there would be no more.

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The sound and light from the trideo stopped. Tabitha quietly gasped in fear and held her breath, making the Sign of the Cross and starting her prayers anew. She heard the heavy footfalls of her uncle as he walked down the hall. If he would just pass her doorway, if he did not stop and look in, that would be the end. If he passed by to his own room, she could sleep safe. Tabitha hoped that he would just go to bed, but deep inside, she knew, _she knew_ that he wouldn't. Her Uncle Sean had punished her today, laid his hands on her, _touched_ her, and that meant that no matter how hard she wished or prayed, he would not just pass her bedroom.

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Abruptly the broad-shouldered form of her uncle eclipsed the doorway. Tabitha pretended to be asleep, her eyes closed to slits. He stood at the threshold: the predator watching. She saw a glint of light as he raised his glass and swallowed the last of his cheap whiskey. Tabitha prayed he would just move on. For some unknown reason sometimes, (rarely) sleep, feigned or otherwise, made him leave.

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But not tonight. He stepped into the room, his work boots loud across the floorboards. With that first step, tears squeezed past Tabitha's eyelids, and her body began to shake uncontrollably, her prayers unanswered. Tabitha heard the hollow sound as he set his empty glass on her nightstand, and felt his weight tilt the worn-out mattress to the side as he sat down. She could hear him breathing heavily, and could already smell his stink of sweat, and the stench of the cheap whiskey he drank by the gallon.

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Sean flipped back her covers, Tabitha's flesh raised into goose bumps, both in fear and with the sudden chill. The chill and terror caused her nipples to dent the cotton of her nightdress. When he gripped her ankles and pulled her legs apart she could not stop the gasp from escaping her lips. She tried to close her legs, but Sean's vastly superior strength would not allow it.

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"**Tabitha,"** he growled in anger, slapping her across the tops of her legs. She groaned and instantly went slack as she heard the simmering fury in Sean's voice. Tabitha knew from hard-earned experience that if she fought him, he was capable of giving her tremendous pain. He positioned himself between her outstretched knees, still holding one ankle. His other hand slid up her thigh.

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"**No,"** Tabitha softly moaned. His coarse hand went higher, worming beneath her underwear...but not stopping there.

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"**No...please stop...please,"** Tabitha begged quietly. Oblivious to her plea, he wrenched the garment out of his way, tearing it. She took a hitching breath and spoke again, **"Please don't...**_**please, don't**_**."** Sean released her ankle and captured her hands, and then his terrible weight fell upon her, nearly crushing out her breath. The burning pain was next, that awful pressure, the monstrous burning shame of what he did, the shame intensified by the fact that she was only brave enough to beg, but not to fight.

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Tabitha gave a muffled sob as the pain increased and said,** "It **_**hurts**_**...it **_**always**_** hurts...please don't hurt me anymore...**_**please**_**?"** She quietly gasped as the pain and pressure reached a new height, then it broke. Tabitha gave a whimpering moan, and then wept silently. Her tears flowed down the side of her head, running into her ears and soaking her hair. Sean's weight continued to crush her even as the pain slowly dulled into virtual numbness.

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Tabitha felt a growing wetness beneath her, matching the wetness of her tears, knowing it was her blood. She tried to shift slightly under Sean's hideous weight, out of the wetness. He felt her move and huskily whispered, **"Oh Tabitha...I **_**knew**_** you liked this."**

**. **

That set her mind to screaming in horror. _"I don't like this! I hate it! I hate it! And I hate you! I __**HATE**__ you! If I could kill you I would!"_ The desire to hurt him, to punish him, to force the pain and humiliation back on him rose in her mind.

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Before her thought was finished Sean chuckled evilly and added, **"You're such a little slut."**

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"_I am __**NOT**__ a slut! I am __**NOT**__ a slut! I am __**NOT**__ a slut!"_ She chanted this last like a mantra over and over in her mind, but Tabitha knew better than to voice such things out loud. Sean could be brutal and cruel if she crossed him, quick to hit with his fists and always hitting where it didn't show. Recently, as she tried resisting one of his new (and if it was even possible) more sickening desires, Sean had punched her so hard and repeatedly in her back that she had urinated blood for two days, matching the blood from other places.

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Suddenly Sean grunted deeply and strained, every muscle taut. **"Yes, my little Tabby-Cat,"** he hissed into her ear. She hated the pet name, Sean used it at times like this...afterwards, like it was some sort of endearment. Then he slumped and his terrible weight collapsed onto her. For a brief moment Tabitha was afraid he had passed out on top of her. Sometimes he did that, crushing her until he awoke, saturating her senses with the stink of his body, the reek of his whisky, and the smell of her own violation.

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But not tonight, as within a few seconds he was up, standing above her as she lay in the darkness. **"You can clean yourself up, now, whore,"** was all he said as he retrieved his glass and left her room.

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Tabitha slowly crept out of bed, her body wracked with pain, her mind numb in humiliated repugnance and shame. She made her way into the bathroom, cupping her hand to prevent any blood from spattering on the floor (she only made _that_ mistake once). Tabitha kept her head down in the bathroom, not daring to look in the mirror for fear she would catch the truth of Sean's statement in her reflection: she _**was**_ his whore. Sean had told her, many times, that he took her in, provided for her, put a roof over her head, food in her belly, and clothes on her back when no one else would. And this was his price.

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Still shaking, Tabitha turned on the water as hot as she could stand, removed her nightdress and ruined underwear, and climbed in the shower. She tried to wash off the blood and his filth, her tears vanishing into the falling water. When she had scrubbed herself raw, she huddled down onto the slick floor, letting the water wash over her. Absently Tabitha watched the slow trickle of her blood, mixing with the water as it swirled down the drain. She sat there, crying soundlessly until, at long last, the water began to grow cold and Tabitha drifted to sleep under the slowly cooling water. She felt comforting arms holding her, keeping her safe, as her grandmother once did. A gentle hand stroked her hair, silently letting her know that, someday, this would only be a memory and it would be all right.

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The hand moved to her shoulder and gently shook her. _**"Susie...Susie...it is time to wake up."**_ Tabitha wanted to stay asleep, resisting the insistent voice and hand, wanting to stay in the safe embrace, not wanting to return to the world. _**"Susie, wake up..."**_

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"_Who is 'Susie'?"_ Tabitha wondered. As realization dawned, she flashed forward, launching out of the dream and landing in the present.

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Susie awoke, the side of her face lying against slightly damp fabric. As she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Akiko's lap. Susie deduced by the dampness level under her cheek that she had cried into her friend's lap for at least some of the night. She also realized her arm was tightly wrapped around Akiko's waist. Susie quickly extricated her arm and sat upright in her bed. She glanced once at Akiko's face and read the questions behind the chrome gaze. Susie quickly looked away again in embarrassment and shame, unable to face her friend's obvious questions. **"I'm sorry," **Susie stammered out,** "if I...uh...you know, ruined your sleep."**

**.**

"**You did not effect my sleep,"** Akiko quietly replied.

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Still without meeting her friend's eyes, Susie nodded and got off the bed, pushing her feet into her black satin china slippers. She could hear music from downstairs, and caught a faint whiff of what smelled like bacon. Realizing she had fallen asleep in just her underwear, Susie squatted down in front of her dresser to look for some pants to wear in the presence of their male company. Susie pulled on the shorts and stood, still trying to shake off the hideous spectre of her dream. She turned back to the bed, only to find Akiko had silently come up behind her. Opting for bravado rather than self-pity, Susie gave her friend an arched eyebrow and lopsided smile in question.

.

Akiko seemed to hesitate, and then reached out and grasped Susie's hand. **"What you said as you dreamt...who was it?"** Akiko said.

.

"_Oh my God, she heard me! What did I say?" _Susie thought as her face reddened in embarrassment and shame. She looked down at the floor, sort of shrugged and said, **"He...my...it was a long time ago."** She couldn't meet Akiko's eyes.

.

Akiko was uncertain what to do in this situation. She had never observed Susie having such an episode as what her friend had experienced the previous night. With those few words, all of the pieces fell together and Akiko felt she knew what happened to her friend. Seeing Susie's embarrassment, she deduced this was something Susie no longer wished to discuss. Akiko simply nodded as her cultural training came forward: if Susie did not want to talk about it, it was impolite of her to pry. Akiko felt compelled to say, **"I am certain it was not your fault, just as I am certain you should not be ashamed."**

**.**

Susie finally looked up at Akiko, her heterochromic eyes glistening with unshed tears. A single one finally escaped from her green eye, causing Susie to brush it away quickly. The lopsided smile returned as she shrugged slightly and said, **"Yeah...I know."**

**.**

Akiko nodded once. She tried to drop Susie's hand as she turned away, but Susie did not let go as she pulled Akiko into a sudden, fierce embrace. Akiko was not quite sure how to react, save to return the embrace. Susie hugged her tightly for a moment and said, **"Thank-you."**

.

"**There is nothing to thank me for,"** Akiko said, **"I am your friend."**

**.**

Susie sniffled and whispered, **"That's why I'm thanking you."**

**.**

Akiko did not wish to breach the bounds of propriety, but her loyalty did require one more question. Akiko turned her head into Susie's curls and quietly asked, **"Did he...meet with justice?"**

**.**

Susie inhaled sharply over Akiko's question. A lazy, slow, sinister sort of smile crossed her face as Susie reminisced on how she had committed her vengeance against her Uncle Sean, just the two of them, all alone, with no one to see, no one to hear, and no one to know. She showed him in the most intimate ways possible just what he helped create in her. The torture lasted for a night, and a day, and a night again, out on that secluded Ohio farm. Susie remembered the whipping, the burning, the beating; the drug induced horror and magically enhanced humiliation, the mutilation and repeated violation of his bound body, the ultimate destruction of his will and mind. She remembered the heady power of the forbidden blood magic she used to keep him alive throughout the entire ordeal. Her breath became short; almost panting, her nipples tightened and the delicious heavy aflutter feeling blossomed in her belly as she relished the memory of it all. **"Oh, yes..."** Susie purred, "**he most certainly did."**

**.**

She released Akiko, sniffed the air loudly and said, **"Well **_**somebody**_** is cooking downstairs. Let's get you a sports-bra and grab some breakfast**."Susie glanced over at the clock and shrugged adding, **"Or lunch...or whatever."**

.

Minutes later Akiko and Susie descended to the living area, a heady cloud of cooking odors surrounding them as they stepped off the stairs. Dance music thumped from the trideo with "Metroplex Storm" by Fusion Flash the current selection. Spread across the kitchen surfaces were bacon and eggs (or what passed for bacon and eggs in the Sixth World), two types of Sweeteez cereal, frozen waffles with syrup, a plate of prepackaged doughnuts, and a pile of toast with margarine. The soykaf machine burbled happily as a fresh pot brewed. Copper Neon bustled to the music through the middle of the controlled chaos, currently scooping more 'facon' off a skillet onto a plate. Zig and Zag sat at the table, the remains of a large breakfast in front of them. Kill Switch sat across from them, just starting to plow his way through a plate of waffles, eggs, and facon, a steaming cup of soykaf by his elbow. The males muttered their 'good mornings' to Susie and Akiko.

.

Copper Neon pirouetted around at their voices, nearly slinging several strips of bacon-substitute off her spatula to the floor. She recovered nicely, dropping the fried-brown strips onto the plate. Akiko sat down and started to pile a plate full of food. Susie simply stared in amused shock as the Vietnamese woman set a mug of soykaf next to Akiko, who nodded her thanks. Neon saw Susie's look, gave her a bright smile and said, **"And what can I get our lovely hostess?"** Kill Switch snorted in his soykaf, earning him a dark look and a swipe from Neon's dishrag.

.

Susie sat down at her kitchen table and said, **"Facon and eggs and some coffee."**

**.**

Neon loaded up a plate and mug and set them in front the mage. As Susie also grabbed a doughnut Kill Switch snickered, **"That'll go straight on you ass."**

**.**

Susie winked her blue eye at the dwarf, smiled sweetly and said, **"Not my ass, Half-Pint."** She waved her hand in a mystical way and added,** "We Irish witches have ways of transferring the fat off our asses right onto the bellies of dwarves."** The twins and Neon chuckled at the exchange, and Kill Switch grumbled but not terribly. Akiko ventured a slight smile, glad to see her friend's normal demeanor reassert itself.

.

Neon continued to dance around the kitchen, her kerchiefed hair flipping about to Maria Mercurial's "Eighth Sin". Susie sipped her soykaf and did a double take at the bouncing woman: Neon was wearing her Pi Beta Phi Spring Mixer t-shirt. **"Are you wearing my clothes?"** she asked.

.

Neon covered her large chest tentatively and said, **"I hope you don't mind, Susie. I went to run a wash load and I found them in the dryer."** Neon gave a pained smile and vaguely pointed to the living room. **"Your dry laundry is folded over there in the basket,"** she said hopefully.

.

Susie decided it wasn't worth getting in a twist. **"Sure, null sheen,"** was all she said.

.

Neon's smile grew brighter. **"Thanks!"** she replied. Susie waved away the thanks as she attacked her breakfast. After a bite she poured some ketchup over the eggs. Neon grimaced and said, **"I'm sorry the eggs aren't better. I didn't have much to work with."**

**.**

Susie shook her head and said, **"No, no, you did a great job. It's just to cover up the soy aftertaste."** She took another bite and added, **"And you folded my laundry too."**

**.**

Everyone at the table murmured their assent to Susie's statement with Akiko adding, **"You should be proud of your skill in domestic matters."**

**.**

Neon struck a provocative pose, one hand cupping her narrow hips, the other behind her head forcing her chest outward. In a breathy, seductive voice she said, **"Well...if a girl wants to snag a good husband she needs to know how to perform all of the wifely duties doesn't she."**

**.**

Kill Switch choked slightly at Neon's statement. Smirking he said, **"Wifely duties, huh?"** The dwarf leaned back in his chair and added,** "So...I guess to fulfill one of those '**_**wifely duties' **_**you've swapped out the faucet for a trench?"**

**.**

Neon looked slightly shocked, but she recovered instantly and said, **"You'll just have to propose to me to find out."** She laid her hand on the dwarf's shoulderand said, **"I would **_**love**_** to meet your parents."** Everyone chuckled, Kill Switch included.

.

Susie turned to Zig and asked, **"How's your wound this morning?"**

**.**

Zig rotated his shoulder, wincing slightly. **"The pain patch only kinda takes the edge off, if you know what I mean,"** he replied.

.

Susie nodded and said,** "Just let me shovel some food and I'll cast a healing spell for you."**

.

Cole suddenly appeared at the top of the stairwell. He smiled and nodded at their greetings. The ork accepted the proffered cup of soykaf from Neon, drinking deeply, sitting on the corner of the table as most resumed eating. Cole motioned to Susie with the coffee cup and said, **"So...I met Piru last night."**

**.**

Susie's fork hesitated for just an instant on the way to her mouth. She ate her bite of eggs and then turned her two-color gaze on Cole, her eyebrow arched in question. **"And?"** she asked.

.

"**Why didn't you mention you had a spirit?"** Cole asked.

.

Neon squealed and said, **"You have a spirit? That is so wiz, Susie!"**

**.**

Susie drank again from her mug and said, **"Piru is a free spirit, not mine."** She shrugged and added, **"It just stays here with me sometimes."**

**.**

"**So what's this spirit look like?"** Kill Switch asked. His hand fumbled at his shirt just below the collar, almost as if he was fiddling with something around his neck. **"You know, just in case we run into it on the way to the crapper."**

**.**

Everyone at the table except Akiko stared at Susie. She glanced once around at their expectant faces and sighed exasperatedly. **"Most of the time Piru looks like a child version of me."**

**.**

"**Yeah well, that's not all she can look like,"** Cole snorted.

.

Susie facepalmed and quietly said, **"Christ...I wish it would stop manifesting in that form?"**

**.**

"**What **_**else**_** does it look like?"** Kill Switch asked.

Cole glanced at Susie. She sighed and he took the hint. **"I'm sure you will recognize her if you see her,"** Cole said to the group. He turned back to Susie and asked, **"So is Piru your friend? I mean: do you both get along?"** he added.

.

Susie gave the ork a bit of a smile and asked, **"What's with the twenty questions?"**

**.**

Cole shrugged and said, **"Well, nothing really. It's just she...sorry, **_**it...**_**seemed kinda pissed off last night, and then this **_**morning**_**..."**

**.**

Susie actually groaned and asked, **"What did it do?"**

**.**

"**Well, I'm not really sure,"** Cole said as he stood back up. **"But this morning I saw it doing something with your Messerschmitt and..."**

**.**

Susie's chair was loud as she backed up from the table. She turned and stalked to the stairwell, Cole beside her. As the pair descended, Neon elbowed Kill Switch, prompting the dwarf to call after them, **"Uh, if you need my help to fix whatever..."** Susie plainly heard him as she waved behind her in thanks.

.

Cole and Susie went down the stairs in silence. She immediately started across the stained concrete towards her racing bike as soon as they reached the ground floor. Her rage consumed her enough that she barely flicked a glance at Akiko's new bike. Susie squatted down on the floor and inspected the blue, custom Arktis, carefully checking the exposed components.

.

After the quick inspection, she stood and turned to Cole, relief showing in her odd two-color eyes. **"I don't see that Piru did anything to it,"** she said.

.

Cole nodded and said, **"I know. I lied to get some private time with you." **Susie crossed her arms and gave Cole an appraising up-and-down look. After a moment her eyes went flat with disinterest. _"Boy, have I see THAT look before,"_ Cole thought.

.

"**Unless you are hiding it very well, you're really not my type, Cole,"** she said. The ork opened his mouth to speak, but the mage cut him off. **"And if you want to experiment, you had best start with someone else, someone a bit less advanced: I haven't had a beginner in quite some time."**

**.**

Cole's jaw dropped open in surprise. **"No...that's...that is absolutely **_**not**_** what I meant,"** he sputtered.

.

Susie arched one brunette eyebrow and asked, **"So what did you mean, then?"**

Cole pointed to the flatbed, and by extension the crate. Susie's gaze turned to follow his hand. When she saw the crate her eyebrow dropped as her eyes widened in surprise. Susie walked over to the flatbed, Cole next to her.

.

The crate still sat roughly centered on the flatbed, but it had changed. The blue tarp sat at the head of the flatbed, neatly folded. The cargo-straps sat next to the tarp, carefully rolled. Neatly stacked across the end of the truck were the planks of wood that had comprised the now disassembled crate, all arranged according to size. All of the nails and staples that had fastened the crate together were next to the stacked wooden planks. They were also arranged neatly according to size and shape.

.

Now sitting out in the open was some sort of stone sarcophagus of a vaguely Egyptian style. It lacked the gold ornamentation and facemask of the traditional style of sarcophagus, made of a dark colored stone, very unlike the tan or white that was usually seen in ancient Egyptian work. Visible along the sides of the sarcophagus were a series of carved hieroglyphs. For Cole, that comprised the sum total: stone coffin, folded tarp and straps, stacked wood and nails. For Susie, however, there was one more significant detail: the sarcophagus was radiating magical power.

.

Susie stared at it gaped-mouthed, walking around three sides of the truck to look at it. Into the silence Cole said, **"When I started coming upstairs this morning, I had the oddest feeling someone was behind me, watching. I turned around and the crate was like this."**

.

Susie leaned on Cole's shoulder and said, **"Please don't let me fall down if I collapse. I need to ascense this area."**

**.**

Cole nodded in understanding. He looped his arm through Susie's and around her waist. He was somewhat familiar with this magical feat, and knew sometimes astral space exhausted mages or shamans. Susie nodded to him once, and projected her senses to the astral plane.

.

The mundane world largely vanished or became dim. Susie glanced once again at Cole, checking his aura for spells or other magic. She noticed a slight dulling, as if something had worked on him recently. She checked herself and saw the same dulling, only thicker: the same magic had affected both of them. Susie turned her perception to the sarcophagus, and was thunderstruck. A cloud-shaped haze of energy hung over the stone coffin, drifting about in wisps. Around the sarcophagus were five bands of glittering electric-blue energy, the bands pulsating in synchronized series from head to foot. A thin tendril of silvery power snaked out from the stone, pointing roughly west.

Susie's body gave a shiver as her senses flipped back to the mundane world. Cole grunted in surprise and said, **"That didn't take too long."**

**.**

Susie pulled out of Cole's arm and saw all of his unasked questions. She shook her head and said, **"I need to go get my mage sword, Briosaid, and fully project to get a better look at this thing."** Susie turned and headed back to the stairs. Cole noticed her nipples dimpling her t-shirt. **"And I need to get dressed. It's frigging cold down here," **she said as she crossed her arms over her breasts. Cole followed her to the stairs and they both began to climb.

.

As Susie was about to ascend past the living area, Neon yelled to them. **"Come on guys, get in here! Check it out! There we are!"** she said. Cole and Susie followed her wildly gesticulating hand to the trideo.

.

On the screen a reporter's voice-over provided play-by-play commentary as they watched distant camera footage of their shadowrun on the repository. Clearly the footage was from some other location as their figures were small and indistinct. The reporter droned on as they watched themselves. The twins, Neon, and Kill Switch were adding groans and catcalls as they watched the action.

.

Zag spoke up and said, **"Watch them loose that chopper."** A moment later Susie's spell flashed out and caught the helicopter, doing tremendous damage. Cole quietly whistled as he watched the chopper go down. The camera providing the footage was across the street from the repository as it allowed them to actually view the crash, unlike the previous night. The pilot was able to keep from crashing just long enough for the person clinging to the skids to get back inside. Mere moments later the helicopter went down hard, destroying the skids and tipping over onto its side. The rotor blades shattered into pieces as they contacted the ground.

.

Seconds later two figures climbed out of the wreckage. One was clearly a female wearing shamanistic regalia, the other a male, most likely the pilot. A dark colored SUV picked them up. The vehicle had neither lights nor license plates. Just before the pilot entered the SUV, he tossed something in through the shattered windscreen of the helicopter. Before the vehicle was out of sight, a bright white fireball consumed the chopper.

.

The reporter droned on as he reappeared on the screen. Most of what he said was ignored by the team, until he concluded his report with, _**"...the helicopter in the footage has been identified by Seattle's own Lone Star Security as belonging to the Egyptian Embassy. SWNet has attempted to contact the embassy for a comment, but they have not returned our calls."**_

_**.**_

Most of the team went back to their breakfast or banter. **"Well that makes sense about the Egyptians, if the style of that thing downstairs is any indication,"** Cole said quietly to Susie. She nodded, then grabbed Cole's shoulder and quickly ascensed the remainder of their team. Susie was able to see that Kill Switch had some sort of small magical item around his neck. The dwarf also had a similarly dulled aura just as she and Cole had.

.

She came back to the mundane world. Susie looked at the trideo screen and tried to tune out the guy on the screen: Art Schroedinger. He was a famous, anti-magic assclown that was currently using the example of their shadowrun to hold forth about the UCAS needing to enact greater restrictions on mages and shamans. Susie flicked a glance at Cole and quietly asked, **"Anything unusual happen to you last night or this morning?"**

**.**

His thick brow furrowed. **"I assume you mean excluding the crate?"** he asked. Susie nodded slightly as the conversation chattered on at the table behind her. Cole scratched his day-old stubble and said, **"No, not that I can think of."** He paused then added, **"Well, I did have a bad dream."**

**.**

Susie kept her gaze on the trideo as she asked Cole, **"What was it about?"** Cole hesitated, looking down at the floor. Susie slightly shook her head and said, **"Never mind, scratch that." **She took a quick breath and said,** "Okay, answer me this: was the dream just something random or was it structured around an actual event in your life?"**

**.**

The ork narrowed his eyes in suspicion and asked, **"Why?"**

**.**

Susie gave him an exasperated look and said, **"Because my nightmare was about something that actually happened."**

**.**

Cole's eye went wide. **"Yes,"** he whispered. **"It actually happened to me."**

Susie nodded and said, **"I'll bet you a dinner at the Needle that our dwarf had a nightmare too. His aura shows it the same as yours and mine."**

**.**

"**His aura?"** Cole said.

Turning to face him, Susie replied, **"Yes, in his aura, and yours, and mine too. All of the Awakened members of the group."** Eyes narrowing in thought Susie said, **"I'll bet you goblinized as a teenager, didn't you."**

**.**

Cole's mouth dropped open in shock. **"That's too damned spooky."**

Susie shook her head slightly and said, **"Not really. The spell affected you the least, the dwarf more so, and me the most. As a mage, I'm the most directly connected to the mana. Kill Switch had to be born a dwarf, so, ergo, you aren't natural born or the spell would have hit you and him the same." **

**. **

Shaking his head at her logic, Cole asked, **"What are we going to do about this?"**

**.**

Susie took a quick breath and said, **"Well, first I'm going to go get Briosaid and some other focuses, then I'm gonna finish my breakfast and heal up Zig before I tackle this."**

**.**

Cole nodded. **"Okay. Just let me know if you need anything."** Susie smiled in thanks as the ork walked back over to the kitchen table. He sat down and joined in the conversation, heaping a plate full of food.

.

Neon looked up from her seat at Susie and said, **"Hey, your food is getting cold."**

**.**

Susie gave her a brilliant smile and said, **"I'll nuke it in a minute. I want to go get some items to help me with the healing magic for Zig."** Susie caught Akiko's eye and gave the Asian woman a '_come with me_' jerk of her head as she went upstairs. Akiko took a last sip of her soykaf and followed her friend.

111


	11. Chapter 9: Nanciscor Astralis

Thank-you to those still sticking with my story. I hope you all enjoy.

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Return to Sender Chapter 9: Nanciscor Astralis

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As Akiko entered the bedroom, Susie was snugging up a pair of black tights. She started pulling a pair of stretch pants over the tights as she said to Akiko, **"There's a problem with the crate."**

**.**

Akiko digested that for a moment and asked, **"What sort of problem?"**

**.**

**"Somehow the crate got disassembled,"** Susie replied.

.

Akiko crossed her arms and asked, **"What do you mean '**_**disassembled?'**_**"**

**.**

"**I mean every plank and nail that made the crate is stacked off to the side,"** Susie replied.

.

As Susie pulled a sweatshirt out of a drawer, Akiko considered her next question. **"And what is inside?"** Akiko asked.

.

Susie sat down on the clothes and equipment-cluttered floor. **"There's a sarcophagus inside, and it's absolutely glowing with magical energy,"** she said as she slipped her foot into an athletic shoe.

.

"**So what are you going to do?"** Akiko asked.

.

Done with her first shoe, Susie crawled around in the disorderly mess of the floor. **"Where the hell is my other gym shoe?"** she said under her breath. Susie yanked an athletic shoe out from under the bed with a fierce, **"Ah-HA!"** As she laced it up she said, **"First I'm going to heal up our street sammy, and then I need to astrally project and see what the sarcophagus is about."**

**.**

Akiko knew from experience with mages that magical work was often draining both physically and mentally. She knew from long experience with her friend that Susie was likely to extend herself past the limitations of her body. **"If you are casting many spells today you should finish your breakfast first. You will need your strength,"** Akiko said.

.

Susie pulled her head through the neck of her sweatshirt, her mass of curls bouncing. The front of the black sweatshirt was emblazoned with silver cursive script which read 'Tops and Bottoms' with the subscript '(for the discriminating individual)'. Susie grabbed her armband and Briosaid from the top of her dresser. She rolled her heterochromic eyes dramatically and patted Akiko on the cheek. **"Yes, my **_**Nee-chan**_**,"** she said amenably.

.

Susie had used the intimate Japanese address for 'big sister'. It was sometimes an inside joke between them, especially when Akiko was trying to caution Susie. Akiko sighed and said, **"I am barely a year older than you."**

**.**

Susie gave her friend a grin and said, **"I know,"** as she breezed past Akiko down the stairs. Even though the news still droned on from the trideo it seemed everyone was ignoring it. Susie laid the still sheathed Briosaid on a side table and slid her armband onto her wrist beneath the cuff of the sweatshirt. Before Susie could sit down to resume her breakfast, Neon snatched up her plate and popped it in the microwave to reheat it. As the oven dinged Neon refilled the mage's cup with fresh soykaf.

.

As Susie wolfed down the remainder of her breakfast Kill Switch shook his head and said. **"Very classy."**

**.**

Susie shot him a dirty look. **"What?"** she asked around a mouthful of food. **"We've got a lotta stuff to do today so I figured I'd hurry up and finish."**

.

The twins jerked their heads around in surprise. **"What all do we need to do?"** Zag asked.

.

Akiko reappeared from upstairs, fully dressed in borrowed clothing. As she silently resumed her seat at the table, Cole took a sip of his soykaf and said, **"Well I think we need to figure out a way to get our gear from the unfinished house up in Greenwood," **he said**. "If we don't,"** he added,** "then most of us need to hit our doss or the mall for some more clothes."**

**.**

"**I have equipment there I would rather not leave behind,"** Akiko said. The twins nodded in unison.

.

Kill Switch sighed and said, **"Eish, this is so totally befok...but you're right."** The dwarf half-shrugged and added,** "Ah well, I needed to run by my workshop and grab something for the truck anyway."**

**.**

"**Well since you're going out, howzabout you and Zag run out to Greenwood and grab the gear?"** Cole asked.

.

Kill Switch sat thinking for a few seconds, his face screwed up in concentration. **"Sure. We can hoof it in on foot from the trees on the north side of the complex, then run out a few bags of gear."**

**.**

"**Please make sure my case is among them?"** Akiko asked.

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Kill Switch nodded and pushed himself back from the table. Cole flicked a glance at Susie. She raised an eyebrow and imperceptibly shrugged. As the dwarf was about to heave to his feet, Cole held up a hand and said, **"Hang on a sec', chummer, there's more."** Everyone looked at Cole as Kill Switch sat back in his chair. The ork cleared his throat and said, **"I have something I need to tell you all."**

.

A particularly annoying commercial came on the trideo, advertising for '_**Nor-Pac Wireless, for all of your Matrix surfing, computing and simsense entertainment needs! (a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuchi Industrial Electronics)**_'. The volume sounded cranked up all the way to eleven. Even though the old USA had passed legislation for feature/commercial volume transition back in the 2010's, the megacorps simply started ignoring it by the '30's.

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Cole winced noise and asked, **"Neon can you shut off this drek?"** Neon glanced at the trideo screen, sending the signal to cause it to go blank. Cole took a deep breath and said, **"All right...this morning, when I woke up, I noticed that something was...different...with our stolen cargo."**

**.**

Kill Switch looked around the table at the faces of his team members and asked, **"Different? Howzat?"**

**.**

The ork looked uncomfortable as he said, **"It seems the crate has...sort of come apart."**

**.**

Everyone stared at Cole, digesting what he had said. Neon was the first to speak. **"'Come apart' how, exactly?"** she asked.

**.**

Cole glanced again at Susie. She took the hint and said, **"Magically."** Neon gasped quietly. Susie shrugged and added,** "Exactly how it occurred, I haven't had time to figure out, yet."**

**.**

Kill Switch narrowed his eyes in anger. He crossed his arms and harshly asked, **"Really? And why not? What could possibly more important than figuring this out?"**

**.**

Susie faced the dwarf, her heterochromic eyes flashing in irritation. She started to drum her fingers on the table, the crimson-painted nails chattering with an almost glass-like sound. **"Hmm...let's think about that, shall we? 'What could **_**possibly**_** be more important'? Maybe I needed to eat to recoup some energy after dueling with that spirit, or after swatting that helicopter last night."** Susie paused, crossing her arms before spitting out,** "Twice."** She cocked her head to the side and asked,** "Did you think either of those was easy?"**

**.**

The dwarf glared back at her. **"I never said they were,**"he replied through clenched teeth.

.

Susie cupped her chin, placing a finger across her mouth in an imitation of thinking. **"Or maybe I felt it was critical that I use some of my regained energy to heal up Zig,"** she said.** "Unless you'd like to jander on in to Seattle General."** She paused as everyone watched Kill Switch's anger vanish into embarrassment. In low voice, Susie added one last thing. **"Or maybe, just maybe, instead of rushing into this problem, swinging my sword over my head like some crazed, retarded banshee, I thought it was a good idea to carefully and methodically inspect what happened to the crate."**

**.**

The dwarf looked down at his lap. Cole uneasily cleared his throat into the silence and said, **"Why don't we all run downstairs so you can see what happened to the crate while Susie works on Zig?"** There were a few murmurs of assent from the group. Everyone except Zig and Susie rose to their feet and tromped down the stairs, Cole in the lead, Akiko in the rear.

.

Once the group was out of sight on the stairs, Susie rose and claimed the seat Zag had just vacated. She sat down in a huff and asked almost to herself, **"Why is it every time I think the dwarf shows some signs of being human, the bastard suddenly surrounds himself in a cloud of pure asshole?"**

**.**

Zig cleared his throat and said, **"I've noticed you give as good as you get...sometimes more."** When Susie made no comment Zig quickly added, **"I'm just sayin'..."**

**.**

The mage looked up at him through her lashes and sighed. Shrugging her shoulders she said, **"I guess you're right. I should probably cut him a little more slack. We're all a little edgy about this situation."**

**.**

Susie took a deep breath and cleared her mind. She caressed the armband on her wrist to activate it. The magical power contained in the armband came to life, increasing her abilities. Susie began speaking in Irish Gaelic, using it as a centering ritual to help her resist the drain of the healing spell.

.

"**How long will you need?"** Zig asked quietly, so as not to break the mage's concentration.

.

Susie paused in her chanting and said, **"I'm never completely sure, but I'm feeling pretty good about it this morning."** She pursed her lips to the side in thought and added, **"Maybe twenty minutes or so."** Susie gathered her power again, drawing the mana into herself. She slipped one hand inside Zig's shirt, touching the bandages covering the gunshot. The other she lay on his ribs below the wound. Susie took a quick breath and then started passing the power through his body.

. 

With healing magic, the recipient had to be willing to receive it. This willingness made the overall ambience and experience of using healing spells different than combat or manipulation spells. For Susie, the sensation of using light to moderate healing magic was often like a good workout session. It left her with a slight feeling of contentment, pleasantly tired, her muscles tingling. Many that received healing magic were often at death's door, unconscious and unable to fully appreciate the experience. The feelings and sensations experienced varied widely: each person was different.

.

For Zig, the power flowing through him at first felt like a cold drink of water on a hot day. All of his nerves suddenly became alive, but in a most pleasant way, much like standing exposed to the breeze on a summer afternoon, or taking a dip in the pool. A deep sense of satisfaction, lassitude, and euphoria settled into his body and psyche. Slowly glancing around the room he noticed the entire world seemed to have a sparkle and glow he had never seen before. The lamps in the room had brilliant glowing starbursts around them. The pale daylight coming through the windows was stunningly pearlescent.

.

His gaze settled on Susie as she worked her art. She was no longer speaking, quiet as she channeled the healing power into him. The writing on her sweatshirt dazzled like burning silver, and she seemed limned by a rainbow. Susie glanced up at him, one dark eyebrow arched. Her eyes glittered and sparkled with an almost gemlike light: the right one a chip of green agate, the left a nearly indigo piece of lapis.

.

"**I never noticed your eyes were two different colors,"** Zig said in a dreamy, far away voice.

.

"**It's the Mark of the Fey,"** Susie replied**. **Zig had no idea what that meant, but he was entranced by her voice: she seemed to speak music. **"How are you feeling?"** Susie asked.

.

"**I feel good," **Zig said. **"I mean really, **_**really**_** good." ** He had never been conscious for healing magic before, and found the experience deeply satisfying on a level he never imagined. Unable to drag his eyes away from the light show surrounding the mage he said, **"The dwarf called you Irish. You don't sound like you're from Tir na nOg?"** he asked.

.

"**My grandmother was Irish,"** Susie replied. Adopting a thick Irish brogue she said, **"But I ken sound like her, iffn' the mood takes me, boyo."**

**.**

"**Wow..."** Zig said, entranced with the sound of the foreign accent. He stared at her a moment more, watching the nearly kaleidoscopic radiance of her eyes.

.

She caught him staring, gave him a half smile and said, **"What is it?"**

**.**

"**Your eyes are just...so...**_**pretty**_**,"** he breathed, hoping she would speak again.

.

Susie gave him a knowing look and chuckled as she said, **"Oh, so you're one of **_**those**_** ones."** Zig gave her a goofy smile in return, not sure what she was talking about. **"Just close your eyes and relax," **she said.** "You might find what's going on in your mind's eye more interesting." **Zig did as she suggested, and found he could not disagree.

.

**.**

When Cole and the team reached the bottom of the stairs, and most got their first look at the altered crate, Neon gasped. The group walked over to get a closer look, although no one dared to touch the sarcophagus. They stared at it in rapt attention.

.

Kill Switch's hand clutched his shirt, just below his throat. **"It was just like this when you woke up?"** he asked Cole. The ork slowly nodded. "**And you didn't hear anything?"** Kill Switch asked.

.

"**No, nothing,"** Cole replied quietly. He was getting a bad vibe from this thing.

.

Zag said nothing. He slowly walked around the truck, hands on his hips. Cole noticed that Zag, while giving an outward appearance of calm, was continuously fiddling with the right side of his waist. _"He's twitching for the gun he usually wears,"___Cole thought.

.

Neon was breathing heavily, refusing to get any closer than ten feet away. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders, either in protection or from the chill in the air. Taking a shuddering breath she asked, **"Can we get some pictures of this thing? I want to see if I can find anything about it on the Matrix."**

**.**

"**I can record some images,"** Akiko said. From her pocket she removed the recording chip she had brought from upstairs. Akiko slotted the chip into her jack and slowly circled the truck, using her eyes to record images of the object to the chip, making sure to focus in on each of the carved symbols. Akiko felt a vague sense of unease around the sarcophagus, an odd disquiet, but the feeling was fleeting. She finished taking images and video, disengaging the chip from her jack. Akiko held it out to Neon who took it without a word.

.

Kill Switch blew a breath past his lips, his head twitching back in surprise at his visible breath. Checking his timepiece he said, **"I'm gonna run to my shop and grab some tools and stuff."** He glanced and motioned to Zag as he continued,** "Once I get my crap, I'll come back and pick you up so we can run out to Greenwood."**

**.**

"**I can help you with your gear, if you want,"** Zag said absently, his attention still mostly consumed with the sarcophagus.

.

Suddenly looking more uncomfortable the dwarf said, **"Uh...that's all right. I can get it myself."** He paused, then shrugged and said, **"Besides, the place is a mess since I gave the maid the week off."**

**.**

Zag nodded and said, **"So ka."**

**.**

Kill Switch fished around in his pocket for the remote to the roadster. As he opened the driver's door he turned back to the group and said, **"Anybody need anything else while I'm out? Now's your chance 'cause I think Zag'n me will be all full up on the next trip."**

**.**

"**I'll probably be in cyberspace when you leave again, so please make sure you bring my bag when you get the rest of our gear."** Neon said to the dwarf. She prevaricated for a moment and then blurted, **"It has my meds inside, and if I don't get them back, I'll need to get more ASAP."**

**.**

"**Uh...yeah sure. I'll make sure I bring your bag,"** Kill Switch said, looking and sounding slightly confused. **"Which one is yours, girlie?"** he asked.

.

Neon gave him a slight smile and said, **"I don't think you can miss it. It should be the only completely fabulous bag in the house. Just be gentle with it: the meds are injectable."**

**.**

"**Null sheen,"** he said.** "Fabulous bag: be gentle."** Kill Switch slid behind the wheel and slotted the control cables. He started up the roadster and turned it around while Akiko tripped the door from the controller in her pocket. The dwarf stopped next to Cole on his way out. Kill Switch jerked his head and said, **"Aweh, Cole."** The ork took the hint and leaned in the open window. **"Try and make sure our spell-singer gets on this as soon as she's done playing doctor,"** the dwarf said. Cole nodded and stood back up straight, backing away from the roadster. Kill Switch closed the window and gave them all a wave as he drove out into the grey December daylight.

.

Cole sauntered over to where Neon, Akiko, and Zag were standing staring at the sarcophagus. Neon abruptly started shivering. Through chattering teeth she said, **"I didn't know Seattle got so cold!"** She shook her head and added, **"I'm going back upstairs where it's warm."** Neon turned back at the first landing and said, **"I'll jack in and try and scope some info on the sarcophagus."**

**.**

"**Would you please ask Susie to come down when she and Zig are finished?"** Cole asked. Neon nodded and then finished climbing the stairs.

.

At the top of the stairs Neon saw Susie had moved Zig to the loveseat, her spell complete. The blonde man's chiseled features were slack as his large body leaned back into the cushions.Neon tiptoed overto where Susie stood and whispered, **"Is he asleep?"** Before the mage could reply, Zig's eyes popped open. He rubbed his face and looked around the room, tentatively pressing his fingers against where his wound had been. He smiled at the lack of pain.

.

"**I can't help much with the scarring, but all of the actual damage is completely healed,"** Susie said. She turned back to the to the table, picked up her mug and swallowed the last of her soykaf.

.

As Susie was drinking her caffeine, Neon read off the back of Susie's shirt that Tops and Bottoms supplied everything for "all of your fetish needs". The address was over on Seneca, in the Downtown District. **"Is that a magic shop?"** Neon asked the mage.

.

Susie snapped around and said, **"What?"**

**.**

"**Your shirt,"** Neon said. She gestured at the writing and asked, **"Is it a place where you get fetishes and potions and magic ingredients?"**

**.**

Susie smiled mysteriously and said, **"No, not exactly."**

**.**

Neon lowered her voice and quietly said, **"Cole wanted me to ask you to please come downstairs when you and Zig were done."**

**.**

Susie nodded as she moved into the kitchen and dropped her mug in the sink. She flicked her gaze across the epic-level destruction of the kitchen from breakfast. Susie was not always quick to clean up, but even she could not leave a mess of these proportions for later. As Susie started to collect the various cups, plates, and silverware from breakfast, Neon rushed over and said, **"Oh, please let me do that. You've got other stuff to do."**

**.**

"**Uh, thanks,"** Susie replied. Neon shooed Susie out of the kitchen and started clearing the breakfast mess, turning on the music.

**.**

Zig stood up and headed across the living room area to the kitchen, stopping in front of Susie. Zig rotated his arm and shoulder and said, **"Thanks. This feels great."**

**.**

Susie shrugged and said, **"Null sheen. That's my job."**

.

As she moved past Zig towards the stairs, Zig cleared his throat loudly to regain the mage's attention. She turned back at the top of the stairs. Blushing slightly Zig said, **"Uh...about how I was acting earlier..."**

**.**

Susie shook her head. With a ghost of a smile she said, **"Don't worry about it. Healing magic effects everyone differently. Some get the giggles, a rare few sleep immediately, and some get frisky. You're one of those people that have a bit of a psychedelic experience."**

**.**

Zig nodded in thanks and turned to help Neon with the dishes as Susie opened a closet next to the stairwell. She slipped on a white winter vest, pulling a pair of gloves out of the pockets. Susie donned the gloves, grabbed her sword from the side table, and went downstairs.

.

Zag passed her on the stairs. He nodded and said, **"Good luck."** Susie smiled in thanks and continued down to find Cole and Akiko sitting at the bottom, waiting for her. Susie sat down with them on the stair above, pulling out a pair of white earmuffs. Cole took in her cold weather clothing and lightly asked, **"Are we heading to the Yukon?"**

**.**

Susie snorted and said, **"Well it **_**is**_** pretty cold today for Seattle, even in December."** As she tucked some earmuffs around the back of her head under her hair she continued, **"I don't know how long I'll be gone. I just wanted to make sure my body doesn't suffer down here."**

**.**

Akiko was familiar with Susie astrally projecting. She had often watched over her friend's body during the exercise. With a hint of concern Akiko said, **"You could simply project from your bedroom where it is warm and safe."**

**.**

"**Believe me, I considered it,"** Susie replied. **"But I have this feeling I should be near it when I'm on the astral."** She stared at the flatbed and its cargo for a moment and said, **"Maybe we should move the truck a little closer to the stairs."**

**.**

Cole jumped to his feet and crossed the floor to the flatbed. He maneuvered the truck to park it at an angle, less than ten feet from the bottom of the stairs. The sharp, pungent odor of gasohol fumes wafted around the sitting women. As Cole climbed out of the cab he said, **"Kill Switch said he was getting **_**'something for the truck'**_**. I **_**think**_** I know what he's going to do, but I'm not positive so I wanted to make sure he would have room to get all of the way around it."**

**.**

Looking slightly apprehensive Susie said, **"He can't move the truck with me on it while I'm gone. I don't want to have to hunt around for my body."**

**.**

"**I will make sure the truck does not move,"** Akiko assured her.

.

Susie smiled her thanks. She placed her sword on the bed of the truck and climbed up to sit behind the cab. Susie sat cross-legged, back braced against the rear window. She drew Briosaid and set the leaf-shaped blade across her thighs. In the pale grey daylight, the orichalcum edges of the sword flickered with a strange orange-gold radiance. As Susie shifted around to get comfortable for the duration, she could feel the chill from the metal diamond-plate bed, even through her pants and tights. _"My butt is going to be so numb before I'm finished,"_ she ruefully thought.

.

Cole stood at the bottom of the stairs. He had had little chance to be present when a mage or shaman had gone fully astral. **"Is there anything you need me to do?"** Cole asked.

.

Susie opened her two-color eyes and looked at Akiko and Cole. **"No nothing special: just don't move me, or let my body be harmed physically,"** she replied. **"You can sit and keep Akiko company."** Susie shrugged and added, **"Or you can go upstairs and help Neon with the dishes."**

**.**

Cole coughed and said, **"I think I'll just hang out down here for a bit."**

**.**

With a knowing smile Susie said, **"Suit yourself."**

.

"**Be careful,"** Akiko said.

.

Her smile turned to a impish grin as she nodded and replied, **"Yes, my **_**Nee-chan.**_** You know I am the soul of discrete caution." **Susie winked at them and closed her eyes saying, **"Catch you later."**

**.**

The world changed for Susie as she entered the astral plane. Anything non-magical or non-living faded, becoming vague like shadows yet still opaque. All artificial things shifted into varying shades of grey. Any natural objects had a washed out appearance, the colors faded and pale. Living beings, while appearing as they actually were, also had a similar washed-out look. The colorful surrounding aura was the most visible aspect of living beings. Most spirits appeared in their true forms, although they could enhance those forms. Only very strong spirits, mostly free, or Great Aspect, or the most powerful elementals could appear as they liked. Those types could drastically change their appearance although they could not hide that they were spirits.

.

Susie stood over her physical body in her astral form of Morrigan the Phantom Queen. She looked over at Cole and Akiko, spending a moment viewing their auras. Cole's aura was brighter, a gold-tinged red. It carried only a few black spots to indicate where his cyberware had destroyed his vital essence. Akiko's blue-green aura was nearly non-existent. Large black splotches were scattered all over her aura from her extensive bodyware. Susie was glad that Akiko's enhancements were all newer generation machines. It was unlikely her friend would ever suffer from the same sort of cyber-replacement mental instability that had plagued her Charles.

.

Susie turned her perception to the sarcophagus. The cloud of surrounding magic was much more diffuse than earlier. The sparkling bands of energy that wrapped around the stone slowly throbbed in sequence. She squatted down next to it to get a better look at the hieroglyphs. Some of the symbols that adorned the rim of the sarcophagus glowed ever so faintly, declaring them as spells of some sort. Susie recognized none of the spells around the lid and box. Clearly the energy bands were some sort of powerful dweomercraeft to keep the lid closed, but she had never seen their like. She dredged all of the knowledge she had learned in her time at MIT&T for anything resembling this enchantment and came up with nothing. How or why this stone box had been prepared and sealed was beyond her knowledge. Susie glided around to the other side of the sarcophagus to inspect the thread of power passing to the west. She passed her astral hand close to it, feeling the energy of the spell reverberate. Despite its apparent thinness, it certainly felt powerful...powerful enough that she should probably not actually touch it. Her gaze marked its trail out through the wall of her building, still pointing west.

.

"**Isn't it interesting, Tabitha?"** a whisper asked. The voice was sibilant, icy, and inhuman.

.

Susie took a deep breath and turned to the whisper. Piru had chosen to manifest in one of its less repulsive astral forms. It sat on the back of the flatbed behind the sarcophagus: a shadowy vaguely saurian shape crossed with a winged humanoid. It very much gave the impression of something demonic. Its eyes were still two bright bits of glimmering fire: one green the other blue.

.

She guessed that Piru was only manifesting here on the astral as Cole and Akiko did nothing to indicate they heard or saw the spirit. Susie gestured at the stacks of lumber and fasteners. **"Are you responsible for this, Piru?"** she demanded.

.

The spirit made a sound that Susie took as a chuckle. **"And if I am?"** it hissed.

.

Susie's eyes sparked in anger. **"Do not **_**push**_** me! What the hell were you thinking? If you did this you may have endangered us..."**

**.**

Piru cut her off saying, **"Did you enjoy your dream, little Tabby-Cat?"** When Susie didn't answer the spirit continued, **"I have to admit: even though it was...unexpected...I enjoyed you experiencing it. So much of what you are makes more sense to me now."**

**.**

"**One day, Piru,"** Susie growled,** "and you're going to go too far with me."**

**.**

The strange chuckling noise came from the spirit again. **"Maybe so, little Tabby-Cat, maybe so...but not today." **As it started fade it said, **"I hope you have fun on your trip...at least as much fun as I'm having right here."**

**.**

Once Piru was gone, Susie looked back at Cole and Akiko. They still showed no sign of sensing her interaction with Piru. She flexed her glossy black wings and took flight, following the tendril out through her walls, over the railyards and beneath the viaduct. The silvery-white thread was difficult to follow through the buildings, forcing her to traverse astral space much slower than she normally did. Ordinarily, she was capable of astral speeds in the thousands of kilometers per hour. Once she cleared Harbor Island, she could see that the power trail led southwest rather than due west. Without so many buildings in the way, Susie was able to follow the trail faster across the Sound before skirting around the Bangor Trident Naval Base. Susie flew above the Sun-a-doh Forest, what was formerly the Olympic State Forest before the Treaty of Denver gave those lands back to the Salish tribes. Even though the trees in the forest were more numerous than the buildings of the city, Susie found it easier to navigate to follow the trail. She flew through the mountains, The Brothers passing on her left and Mt. Constance on her right. Susie could see the glow of some sort of ritual magic taking place out in the forest, but it did not lie on her course.

.

And then suddenly the land gave way: she was over the Pacific Ocean. The tendril of power stood out prominently against the heaving water. Susie increased her speed as she flew across the sea. The path of the energy was more southwest than west, towards the Kingdom of Hawai'i. Susie was able to fly in sprints and periodically slow down to make sure she was still following the trail.

.

After nearly two hours, Susie passed over one of the main north-south energy lines. Since the Awakening (and the return of higher levels of mana) all of the old ley lines, energy points, and magical vortices became much more active. A network of magical energy now wrapped around the Earth. The strands of the net could be sensed, and in some places tapped, particularly at a juncture. When Susie crossed the line she felt an instant of disorientation, and then flew onward.

.

The silvery thread of energy had vanished beyond the energy line. Susie carefully backtracked and found the power tendril had split, roughly following the main energy line north and south. **"Well, damn,"** Susie said to herself. **"Which way do I go? North or south?"** She examined the silvery thread, and could detect nothing different about the two branches. North and south seemed identical.

.

Susie hovered thinking: to the north were Yakut...Russia...the Athabaskan and Aleut Council lands...and the Arctic Circle, to the south were Hawai'i... Samoa...Ponape...Nan Madol...Antarctica...the Pacific pole of inaccessibility...and supposedly under that pole, Cthulhu's sunken city of R'lyeh. Abruptly Susie turned and followed the tendril north. With visions of Lovecraftian monstrosities filling her head she thought, _"__**NOTHING**__ good ever comes out of the South Pacific."_

_._

The thread followed the energy line into the North Pacific. It followed closely enough that Susie ramped up to her full astral speed and just rode the powerline. The water blurred beneath her as she sped north to find whatever was at the end of the thread. In about an hour, Susie could see the glorious blaze of the Aurora Borealis across the horizon. Even though the Aurora was normally invisible by day, it was easily visible by day or night on the astral plane. Today it swirled in pink and yellow.

.

Susie came to a stop once she saw the Aurora. Less than a hundred kilometers north of her position was the old Amchitka Island Nuclear Test Facility. Wherever there had been nuclear detonations, either for war or testing, the Earth and her network of mana had been severely disrupted. Detonation sites and the surrounding areas often produced a very high magical background count. The magical community adopted the term 'Null Sites' or 'Null Zones' for places of catastrophic directed damage or hideous psychic misery. In any place with a high magical background count, practicing magic became difficult if not impossible. Mages and shamans had found mental fatigue set in quickly, occasionally their abilities ceasing to function, and sometimes particularly sensitive practitioners actually suffered physical damage.

.

Susie slowly advanced north, seriously doubting whatever was at the terminus of the thread was actually on Amchitka Island. Any place with such a high background count would make magic of this order nigh on impossible. _"It must be nearby,"_ she thought. That actually made a great deal of sense. All of the permanent Null Sites were relatively well known, and mages, shamans, and sometimes even spirits avoided them. Whatever was at the end could be using Amchitka Island as camouflage.

.

Susie flew wide to the east to avoid the Null Site. She could see how the island disturbed astral space, the disturbance bearing a striking resemblance to a multi-tiered mushroom cloud. However, not as far along the Aleutian chain, just east of the Site, Susie perceived a small, brightly glowing area, just along the edge of the Null Zone. She smiled at the cleverness of whoever was responsible for this setup: it was pure genius to hide it in the glow of a nuclear test site. Susie flew down from her height, anxious to see what was anchoring the power thread.

.

Before she had gone far, she saw two dots approaching, fast as thought. Susie perceived in an instant that the dots were a pair of air elementals, coming on fast. She pulled up short and turned as they streaked towards her. Susie was unsure if these were the only spirits protecting the place, or merely the first of many. Susie was very far from her body. She did not want to run the risk of being unable to vanquish the elementals, or be delayed long enough that her physical body expired without her astral form. She only had about three hours left before her body would die.

.

As fast as she could she fled, streaking southeast towards Seattle and her physical body. She flew backwards to keep the elementals in view. Their speed was incredible, easily a match for her own. In a few moments they had caught up to her, their grey wraith-like forms fully visible. Susie felt one of them trying to use its abilities to slow her down. She resisted the slowing effects, immediately changing direction and moving to attack them, realizing she needed to disperse them as the elementals could outrun her. Briosaid leapt from the scabbard, bursting into golden incandescent flame as she attacked.

.

As beings of purely astral form, both elemental spirits were faster than Susie. Eyes glowing a brilliant white, they swirled around her at lightning speeds, not refusing a 'physical' fight. As she defended herself from their attacks, her astral form shifted slightly with the changed conflict: glittering black armor manifested on her torso and shoulders, indicative of the power she was using for magical resistance. The spirits tore at her, ripping her metallic indigo robe, knocking her about the sky. She made no attempt to parry, instead using all of her energy to attack one of the elementals with Briosaid.

.

The leaf-blade swung around too fast to see, leaving a halo tracer across the astral sky as Susie cleaved the elemental. It keened in pain, shedding off some of its essence as her magesword struck home. The second elemental took the opportunity to strike her again. Susie's astral body reflected what the blow would have been like in the material world by loosing a double handful of feathers from her wings, and leaving a deep dent in her now-cracked back-plate.

.

Susie spun and cast a spell at her attacker. On the astral plane, spells took on the forms of living creatures. Her mana bolt manifested as a miniature glowing azure jaguar. It leapt, snarling and slashing at the elemental. The air elemental tried to evade it but was unable. The cat latched onto the spirit's side and raked down the torso with its hind claws, the spell doing its damage, hurling away chunks of the elemental's essence. In the blink of an eye the jaguar was gone, the energy of the spell consumed.

.

Susie took the opportunity to try and escape, flying once more closer to her body, hoping the damage she inflicted slowed them down. The air elementals gave chase again and within minutes they caught her again. Both air spirits suddenly manifested long whipcord arms, their fingers tipped with talons of milky ice. They both grabbed the mage, slashing her legs and wings, leaving deep rents in her armor, shredding her robe further. Susie shrieked in pain as her mind mimicked the physical damage. She had a moment to slash one of the elementals with Briosaid, clipping off more of its essence.

.

The other elemental made a clasping motion with its arms. The spirit's engulfing power manifested as a pitch black manta ray. The manta flashed across the short distance and caught Susie around her hips, torso, and one wing. She immediately shunted some of her power to resist the manta, but was only partially successful. It tightened and then vanished, its eldritch energy dragging a groan of pain from the mage. _"I'm sure by now Akiko and Cole can tell that I'm fighting," _Susie thought. Surely they could see some damage appearing on her physical body.

.

The first elemental came back at her, trying to slash her with its talons. Susie swung Briosaid to parry, the orichalcum edge blocking its attack. She whipped the sword around in a glowing arc, once again fast enough to leave a tracer. Susie snapped it around at the last millisecond, turning the slash into a thrust, and Briosaid's leaf-shaped blade pierced the armpit of the spirit. It gave a whistling wail, and then vanished.

.

She had scant chance to savor her victory. The remaining spirit shoved out with both of its fists, using its psychokinesis ability to batter her. The power manifested as a dog-sized gorilla. Susie tried to parry with Briosaid as the gorilla pummeled her. She was able to fend off most of the gorilla's attack, only getting grazing blows to her head and shoulder. The energy of the psychokinesis dissipated, leaving her to face the elemental. Susie was beginning to tire.

.

"**Piru!"** Susie yelled in desperation. **"Piru, please I need you!" **she yelled again. When the free spirit did not appear she called, **"Please, please come help me!"** The mercurial spirit still did not answer her plea. With a deep breath, Susie steeled herself to try and destroy the last air elemental on her own.

. 

Abruptly she felt a small surge of energy pushing back her fatigue. Akiko or Cole must be performing first aid on her physical body. Susie was glad Akiko had so much experience with situations like this, recognizing when Susie's body was being injured from astral combat. Her friends fixing up the damage her body received was vital if she was going to be able to finish off the second air elemental.

.

Susie took advantage of the new strength and fled again, her attacker immediately in pursuit. As before, it was simply too fast for her to evade it for very long. _"I need to end this fight soon,"_ Susie thought. She flipped herself around, again flying backwards, watching the spirit close the distance between them. Susie's fury rose as she decided that, no matter what, this elemental would soon be dead and gone. With a cruel smile she whispered to herself, **"Keep on coming, you son-of-a-bitch. I'm going to sink my teeth into you and not let go."**

**.**

Susie gathered her power, drawing in so much it almost hurt, and then abruptly stopped her flight, arms held wide. Once again the air elemental did not refuse a physical fight, crashing into her, the icy talons trying to wrench away Briosaid. They fell as they struggled, whirling and spiraling in the long fall to the sea. Susie grabbed the elemental with both hands and wrapped her legs tightly around its wraith-like form. She released the sword grip, letting Briosaid hang from the wrist thong, her armor falling away as she pulled in the last of her power, leaving none to resist the drain. The spirit gave a howl and tried to escape. Susie held it tight and shrieked, **"**_**I'M TAKING YOU OUT!**_**!"** Then she released her power, casting the spell.

.

From the earlier visions of Lovecraftian Elder horrors in her mind, her Death Touch spell manifested as masses of black-green tentacles slithering out from Susie's body. The slime-tinged tentacles wrapped around the air elemental, writhing all over the spirit's form. Screeching, it tried to resist, tearing at her arms and wings. Susie matched it with a vicious shout, forcing the octopoid tentacles tighter. The spirit gave a keening wail, unable to escape, crushed smaller and smaller by the spell. At last, with a small burst of energy, her spell finally won out and the elemental vanished as the Pacific rushed up to meet them. Susie screamed in agony as the drain of the spell sucked out her vital energy. The drain pushed her into unconsciousness at the very instant her limp astral form plunged into the sea.

.

Susie awoke floating in the astral shadow of the Pacific Ocean. As was typical on the astral plane, she was not in the precise spot where she lost consciousness. Astral space had its own currents and flows. Only through strength of will could one resist the slight drift and Susie lost that ability once unconsciousness took her.

.

Luckily she had drifted roughly to the south, and while she was not necessarily closer to Seattle she was not further. Susie quickly looked at the sun and realized she had been unconscious for at least an hour. She guessed she only had about forty-five minutes before her physical body expired. Susie gathered her meager strength, sheathed Briosaid, and launched her battered astral form out of the water.

.

Susie flew as fast as she could, not quite matching her normal top speed, but fast enough to get home before her body expired. In less than twenty minutes the familiar shapes of The Brothers, Mt. Constance and Mt. Olympus rose from the horizon. She absently noted the ritual magic in the woods from earlier seemed to be finished. Seconds after that her converted warehouse home was visible. Susie flashed through the ground floor wall. As before, the silvery thread from the sarcophagus still projected through the wall. Besides the tendril she could see the auras and forms of Akiko and Kill Switch. The dwarf was working on the truck, his short body half sticking out of the cab, head and shoulders thrust up under the dash, his aura showing he was working diligently to push aside his worry. Akiko was on the flatbed, crouching next to Susie's physical body, her aura tightened and tuned up in genuine fear. There was no sign of Cole.

.

Susie took one last moment to check the sarcophagus. The silvery thread of energy was still intact, writhing slightly as if in a gentle breeze. The electric-blue bands of power still throbbed in synchronization. Susie looked for Piru, glancing around the lower level, but the spirit was nowhere to be found. Barely able to keep her astral feet, she leaned down and fell into her physical body.

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Akiko crouched protectively over Susie's physical body, hoping she would return soon. Akiko had a countdown running in her eyes. Susie had told her many times that she could only astrally travel for about seven hours at a time before needing to return to her body. The time was nearly finished, the cold grey day almost having surrendered to twilight and soon to night.

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Hours earlier, Akiko and Cole had watched in shocked horror as blood started oozing out of Susie's nose and mouth. Luckily, Kill Switch and Zag had already returned from the Greenwood house with most of the team's gear, including the Medkit. Cole, whose first aid skill was greater than Akiko's, immediately took charge of treating Susie's injuries. In conjunction with the Medkit diagnostic computer they had treated her wounds enough to prevent the comatose mage from having any permanent injury. Every member of the team had offered to help, even Kill Switch. Cole and Akiko had to refuse them, as the space on the flatbed was too small. That touched off a short argument on whether or not to move Susie upstairs.

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Akiko stressed that Susie might return with only seconds to spare, and could not waste any time searching for her body even if only moved a few feet. Zag has sounded incredulous about that statement, but surprisingly, Kill Switch had supported Akiko. The dwarf quickly explained that Susie's physical body would have no aura as it was with her astral body. She would literally have to trip over her body to find it.

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Once Susie's injuries started, Akiko had applied a stim patch to counteract magical exhaustion. Wherever her friend's astral body was located, Akiko was certain she was burning up the magic. Once Susie's injuries had stopped progressing, Cole had taken a break to go eat. Akiko could not leave her friend, not even for a much-needed trip to the bathroom.

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Suddenly Susie's back arched, startling Akiko. The two-color eyes shot open and a gasp escaped her mouth. Akiko grabbed Susie's shoulders to hold her down. Susie slumped back down immediately, her body limp. She groaned loudly and said, **"Holy shite do I hurt."**

**.**

"**We did not dare give you pain killers while you were gone,"** Akiko said as she quickly removed the oxy-hoses from Susie's nostrils and peeled back a slap patch.** "Cole and the Medkit diagnostic were afraid you might slip into a real coma." ** Akiko stuck the pain killer patch to Susie's neck. The mage was visibly relieved as the medication took almost immediate effect. **"Do you want another stim patch?"**

**.**

"**No, I just need some sleep,"** Susie said to her friend. Akiko simply nodded. The Asian woman dropped off the flatbed and supported Susie as she eased down to the ground, the magesword clattering onto the bed of the truck. As she stood upright Susie nearly swooned, but Akiko prevented her from falling to the concrete. She grasped Briosaid and sheathed the magesword.

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Kill Switch crawled out from under the dash and said, **"Hoi, girlie. Welcome back."**

**.**

Susie nodded weakly and said, **"Thanks. It's good to be back."**

**.**

Cole appeared on the stairs, munching on a PowerSoy energy bar. As soon as he saw Akiko helping Susie, he stuffed the remainder of the bar in his mouth and rushed down to them. Cole immediately slipped under Susie's arm to help Akiko support her, but the disparity in height between the ork and Asian woman was too great. **"This isn't going to work,"** he said. Clucking his tongue he jazzed his muscles, changed positions, and simply picked Susie up off her feet.

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Cole grunted softly as he picked her up. He was surprised at Susie's weight, knowing she had no cyberware. **"You're heavier than you look,"** he said.

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Kill Switch snickered. **"It's all those doughnuts,"** he quipped through his smirk, unable to resist.

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"**I have thick bones,"** Susie said, **"plus I'm still carrying Briosaid."** Kill Switch chuckled as he followed them, hefting the Medkit. Susie passed her magesword to Akiko.

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Cole carried Susie up the stairs, Akiko and the dwarf right behind him. As he carried her, Cole was surprised at how much heat she radiated. **"How do you feel?"** he asked.

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"**Like somebody threw me out of a moving car,"** she replied. **"I just need to sleep off my fatigue and then heal myself up." **As the ork rounded the landing at the living room Susie heard the trideo and the quick murmur the twins gave as they saw Cole carrying her. Neon made no sound, her consciousness out in the Matrix.

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Cole shook his head slightly at the twins' unspoken questions as he climbed up to the next level. **"What happened out there?"** Cole asked her quietly.

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"**I had a run-in with a pair of elementals,"** Susie replied in a drifty voice. She suddenly gave a huge yawn and said, **"Once I get some sleep I'll give everyone the lowdown on what I found**."

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As the yawn moved her head against his chest, Cole caught a brief hint of her shampoo: almonds and vanilla. Cole digested her information as he stood at the top of the stairs. Akiko walked past them and said, **"Her room is the first on the left. I will return in a moment."** Akiko walked quickly to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

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Cole carried Susie into the indicated room, Kill Switch right behind. A motion sensor turned on the bedside light, dimly revealing the disorder. The ork stepped through the mess of clothes and equipment on the floor and deposited Susie on the side of the bed with the alarm clock. He noticed she was already deeply asleep. Cole pulled off her gym shoes and flipped the covers over the lower half of her body. Kill Switch raised his bushy eyebrows in question and hefted the Medkit to Cole. The ork shook his head, preferring to let the mage sleep naturally. Cole surveyed the room for a moment: despite the mess the room looked and smelled pleasantly of female.

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He and Kill Switch absently watched her sleep for a moment, her chest rising and falling smoothly. **"She's gotta halfway decent rack on her,"** the dwarf said conversationally.

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Without volition Cole's mind flicked back to earlier this morning, when he had seen her nipples denting her shirt. A little uncomfortable talking about her as if she wasn't there Cole replied, **"Yeah, they're okay."**

**.**

Lowering his voice conspiratorially the dwarf asked, **"Could you tell if they were natural?"**

**.**

"**I have no idea, chummer,"** Cole replied a little exasperatedly.** "I didn't grope her, I just carried her up the stairs."** A little guiltily, he _did_ remember his appreciation at the heated firmness of her breast against his chest as he carried her, contrasted by the sharpness of her bra underwire poking his arm. Shaking his head the ork said, **" Come on let's go." **

**.**

As he and Kill Switch turned to leave the room, the dwarf turned back and gestured at the sleeping Susie. **"You think she'll be okay like that?"** he asked. Cole looked confused so Kill Switch continued, **"Well, what I mean is: she's still got her cold weather gear on and all...maybe we should...you know..."** The dwarf jiggled a thick eyebrow up and down as a lecherous grin stole across his face. **"Maybe we should just...**_**loosen**_** her clothes for her, you know, so she's comfortable."**

**.**

Cole's mouth dropped open in shock. He grabbed the dwarf by the shoulder and dragged him out of the room. Akiko was just exiting the bathroom and coming towards them, still carrying Susie's magesword. Cole propelled the dwarf with a small shove. As they descended the stairs the ork thwacked Kill Switch on the shoulder and whispered, **"Jeez, man! You are such a friggin' perv!"**

126


	12. Chapter 10: Renegotiation

Well, it's been little while. September and October are always pretty tight for me, so this sat almost done for a few weeks. I hope you all enjoy.

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Return to Sender Chapter 10: Renegotiation

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_Slightly earlier...while Susie was away..._

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Copper Neon slammed the door shut and turned the knob to start the dryer cycle. She then hefted the loaded basket and hauled it to the living room. The dwarf and Zag had left earlier for the Greenwood house. After Zig had helped her wash the dishes and clean up from breakfast, he went downstairs to watch Susie's physical body with Cole and Akiko.

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Feeling lonely, Neon considered going down to the ground level to join them. She stared at the full laundry basket, thinking she really didn't have to fold it, after all, only a small part of it was hers. Neon sighed and resigned herself to finishing. She felt an obligation to do something for the team as; so far, most of her skills remained unused on this shadowrun. Neon activated the music library as she began to fold the clothes. Wanting to try and drag herself out of this funk she chose _Nordkindern_, Thuringian-Forrest Group's powerful debut album. Picking up some of the energy of the music, Neon folded laundry in time to the beat. Once she found her own clean clothes, she skipped off to the bathroom to change back into her own things. She tossed the borrowed clothes into a final wash load and returned to her folding.

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Just as she was finishing her self-imposed task, Cole and Zig appeared at the top of the stairs, toting several firearms and chuckling over something. The men promptly plopped down at the kitchen table and started disassembling the weapons for maintenance. Out of courtesy, Neon turned down the volume, the men nodding their thanks.

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As the men worked they were talking animatedly and good-naturedly about something. Neon casually stepped into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge. Still feeling lonely, Neon drifted over to the table, but once she listened she realized that the conversation was about some finer point of military history. The level at which Cole and Zig were arguing was far beyond her simple knowledge of the subject. She hovered near them, not daring to speak but wanting to join, hoping they would at least ask her to sit with them.

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Zig was the first to notice her. He turned his head slightly and asked, **"Is something up?"**

**.**

As with many men, Neon could hear the carefully hidden disdain in his voice, coupled with a certain gruffness. Although his blandly handsome features and well-modulated voice hid it well, Neon could tell from long experience that Zig was now reacting to her like most men. He wasn't exactly sure how to classify her; unable to reconcile the female shape his instincts saw with what his brain knew the clothes hid, and so covered his confusion with curt sentences and little eye contact. It had happened so many times to Neon that she was almost numb to the effect...almost. This time it stung, as earlier Zig acted personable with her, and willingly helped her clean up from breakfast without exhibiting any prejudice.

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Blushing in embarrassment, Neon did not know how to respond, caught between wanting some company but not knowledgeable enough to enter the conversation, and unsure of herself in light of Zig's perceived attitude. Mentally flailing about for some sort of proper response, Neon awkwardly blurted the first thing that came to mind,** "Uh...is there, um...any chance I can convince one of you guys to uh...clean my gun?"** she stammered.

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Neon instantly regretted the unintended double entendre of her words. Cole turned and looked at her a bit strangely as he said, **"Uh, sure. Just bring your Ruger over and I'll take care of it."** She searched the ork's face for secret meaning to his response, but could not tell. She regretted once again her inability to read ork or troll faces. Still blushing in embarrassment, Neon nodded in thanks. Both men promptly went back to their friendly argument, Zig giving her a single, final look.

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Neon fetched Cole the pistol and then retreated to the stuffed chair without saying a word. She felt a momentary anger that Zig seemed nice enough when they were alone, but felt a need to be distant when another male was in the room. _"Can't have any other male questioning your masculinity, now can we, Zig?"_ she thought.

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Neon's anger promptly shifted to regret at her unkind thoughts, and guiltily shifted the blame to herself. Neon castigated herself for flubbing the encounter, projecting her own insecurities onto both men by deciding they probably would not have wanted her to sit in on their bull-session in the first place. In lieu of the imagined lack of friendly male companionship, Neon briefly considered going downstairs to sit with Akiko, but couldn't bring herself to go. The Japanese woman frightened her a just a bit, not to mention going downstairs would mean getting near the sarcophagus again. Neon wanted nothing more to do with the artifact: it had weirded her out completely.

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As she often did when the world turned her a cold shoulder (real or imagined), Neon retreated into cyberspace. She curled back up under the blanket and inserted the gold-tipped cyberdeck wires into her head. After a single fleeting moment of disorientation she was at the door to the Matrix.

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Neon, like many experienced deckers, refused to live with the rather generic, bland look of the Matrix. She had installed a reality filter program to make the Matrix appear as a place of her choosing. As a child Neon had been entranced with _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_, and _Through the Looking-Glass_. She had watched simsense versions of Alice's adventures endlessly for most of her life and had collected quite a trove of rare items connected to the stories (including a 1901 print edition of _Through the Looking-Glass_ and an original mint-in-sealed-box copy of Disney's animated film _Alice in Wonderland_). It was natural that her version of the Matrix appeared a great deal like the places down the rabbit hole and inside the looking glass. Neon's personalization was very much in tune with her burnished metal Alice persona: most of the Wonderland-esque features seemed comprised of highly reflective metal.

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She bent down to unlock the tiny ornate door, and then shrunk herself to cross the threshold. Neon's Alice persona sprang back up to normal size. Her reality filter showed the Greater Seattle Matrix as the forest in Wonderland. Every datastream took on the aspect of flowing mercury, the computer nodes and constructs varying types of mushrooms, trees and shrubs. Woven throughout the display were the icons of the everyday Seattle Matrix: a representation of the Aztechnology pyramid, the Renraku Arcology, Mitsuhama's Japanese pagoda, and so on.

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Neon flitted about the Matrix, riding the quicksilver streams. She dropped into several chat rooms she frequented, all of them appearing to her as various incarnations of the Mad Hatter's tea party. After responding to a few job and personal enquiries, Neon flashed off to check the info-trap program she had set up on herself. She pulled the sieve-shaped program out of the datastream: it was empty. Neon's program found no notice of her name or information logged with any law enforcement systems. Satisfied that no one unwanted was on her trail, Neon went to check the spider programs she had set up to look for information on her teammates activities.

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The programs appeared as giant striped spiders feeding off the glowing silver information streams. Each spider program had some sort of identifying feature that indicated who it was investigating. Susie's spider had four green eyes and four blue. Akiko's had all of the eyes chrome. Cole's spider had upward jutting fangs; the dwarf's had a beard. The twin's spiders were identical in every way. All of the spiders displayed Cheshire-cat grins, letting her know that so far no incriminating information had popped up on Lone Star Security's radar. Law enforcement had not connected any of them with the shadowrun last night, or the altercation at the Stuffer Shack, at least not yet.

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After Akiko had taken pictures of the sarcophagus, Neon had set up several search programs using the images, description, and all of the info and details they had on the coffin...and their Johnson. Neon's file sifters appeared as butterfly nets dangling in various flowing datastreams. She collected the nets, slung them over her metallic copper shoulder and flashed away to a private cyber-room.

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Once in the room, Neon shook out the nets, dumping the multitudinous butterfly-shaped info-bits into her pocket. She plowed through the vast amount of information her sifters had discovered about Egyptian artifacts, her brain working at lightning speed. Neon was oblivious to Cole placing her cleaned Ruger pistol on the side table next to her. She was so engrossed that she was unaware when the argument over moving Susie's physical body took place downstairs, and only vaguely registered Cole carrying the exhausted mage to her room.

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She was still processing the information, still crosschecking it, when she eventually heard Kill Switch speaking to her, **"Haai...haai, girlie. C'mon out and get somethin' to eat."**

**.**

Neon quickly stashed the pile of data into a quick-vault, and rose out of the Matrix. The windows were now completely dark. The twins sat on the couch watching the trideo. The dwarf stood in front of her, holding out a steaming bowl. When he saw Neon's consciousness had returned he said, **"Here, have some Nuke-N-Serve chowder."**

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She smiled at him, pulling the wire from her headjack. Neon took the proffered bowl, cradling it in her lap to let the soup cool enough to eat. **"Were you able to get my bag?"** she asked the dwarf.

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Kill Switch pointed to the floor in front of the stuffed chair and said, **"One fabulous bag: delivered extra gentle."** Walking away the dwarf glanced up at the spy-action flick _Aldebaran Rising_ flashing across the screen. Shaking his head at the enraptured twins he grumbled, **"I don't know how they can watch shite like that. It's way too much like work."**

**.**

Neon set her bowl of chowder on a side table and grabbed her pink and black synthsatin bag. The rhinestones dotting the surface of the bag reflected the light from the trideo. On her way to the bathroom she noticed Susie, Akiko, and Cole weren't in the kitchen. After locking the bathroom door, Neon retrieved her bottle of medication, a disposable syringe, and an antiseptic pad from the inside of her bag. She drew a dose from the bottle and carefully laid the syringe on the edge of the sink. Neon eased her jeans and panties to her knees. With one hand she used the antiseptic on her right buttock, and with the other used the needle to carefully pierce her lightly bruised flesh. As Neon depressed the plunger and took another tiny step on her journey to become fully female, she wondered if Susie could still possibly be on the astral, and assumed Cole and Akiko must still be watching her. _"I hope they come back soon,"___Neon thought, _"I have a lot to tell them."_

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Akiko sat in the chair at Susie's dressing table precisely where Piru sat last night. She was waiting for the mage to complete her healing spell. It had been over two hours since Cole had carried her friend up the stairs and put her to bed. While Susie had slept for the better part of that time, the mage was now using her healing magic.

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Akiko's enhanced hearing caught the sounds of Cole coming up the stairs. Moments later the ork's broad form filled the doorway. He leaned against the doorframe and quietly asked Akiko, **"How is she doing?"**

**.**

"**She awoke half-an-hour ago,"** Akiko replied. **"At the moment she is healing herself."**

**.**

Susie's eyelids fluttered as she abruptly inhaled deeply. Blowing the breath past her lips and opening her heterochromic eyes, Susie languidly stretched with a soft moan and sat up in bed. Akiko crossed her arms and gave the mage a scowl saying, **"The '**_**soul of discrete caution'**_**, I believe you said."**

**.**

Susie sighed and said, **"I know, I know...you were right, **_**Nee-chan**_**. I almost got in over my head."** She glanced at Cole in the doorway. Nodding with her chin to Akiko and Cole she said, "**Thank-you both for the quick thinking on the first aid. It really made the difference." **

**.**

Susie flipped back her covers and swung her legs off the bed. As she searched for her slippers, she pulled off the white winter vest. **"I'll be down in a minute to let everyone know what I found."** Cole nodded silently and left the doorway for the stairs. As Susie pulled her satin china slippers over her black-stockinged feet she asked Akiko, **"Have you seen Piru?"**

**.**

"**No,"** Akiko replied. **"Not since last night...during your dream."**

**.**

Susie made no reply to that, simply stood and said, **"Okay, let's go. I want to tell everyone what happened."**

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Akiko rose from her chair as well. **"How much danger were you **_**really**_** in?"** she asked quietly.

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Susie cocked up one eyebrow and grinned. **"No more than that one time in Beijing,"** she replied.

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Akiko snorted, remembering that particular adventure on the Asian mainland. Not much lost there except their pride...and a couple of cars and a VTOL aircraft. As the two women traversed the stairs Akiko quietly said, **"I do not recall us needing healing spells that time."**

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"**Well we're not young girls anymore,"** Susie replied with a chuckle. Everyone except the twins turned to look at Susie and Akiko as they descended the stairs. **"Let's sit in the living room, "** Susie said to their unasked questions. Susie and Akiko claimed the love seat, Neon back in the stuffed chair; Cole and Kill Switch perched in chairs dragged from the kitchen. The twins switched off _Aldebaran Rising_ as everyone sat in silence waiting for Susie to begin her tale. Fidgeting as the mage gathered her thoughts, Kill Switch grabbed up the trideo remote and nervously selected some music. The opening synth-flutes and drums of Carcosa's _Red Queen, Yellow King_ quietly floated out of the speakers. Susie smiled at the dwarf's selection and said, **"Nice choice."** Kill Switch bobbed his head in thanks.

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Susie took a deep breath and said, **"Alrighty then...once I astrally projected to see the sarcophagus, it became apparent that some sort of enchantment was currently active."** She launched into the story of inspecting the sarcophagus, the energy bands and lid spells, and the power trail leading out to sea. She carefully kept quiet about Piru's possible involvement with the crate. Ever since awakening, Susie had thought over whether or not to share her suspicions that Piru had something to do with the crate. In the end she edited out her interaction with the spirit, as she simply didn't have any proof that Piru was responsible. Susie continued to relate her adventure: the trip out over the Pacific, the splitting north-south power stream, then to the Aleutian Islands, the Amchitka Null Zone (with a brief foray into exactly what a Null Zone was), and finally her battle with the protective air elementals.

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As she related the last, Kill Switch whistled at the description saying, **"You coulda been zeroed out, girlie."**

**.**

"**I almost was,"** she replied. **"I'll just consider it lucky that they weren't Great Aspect Elementals, or that there weren't more of them."**

**.**

Everyone sat silent as the hauntingly eerie notes of Carcosa's concept disk quietly filled the room. Cole was the first to speak. **"So you weren't able to get a look at what was at the northern end of the power thread?"** he asked.

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Susie shook her head and said, **"No. The elementals came on me too quick. All I could tell was that it was emanating from an island just outside the eastern edge of the Null Zone."**

**.**

Kill Switch fingered his amulet nervously.** "Any chance they can follow you after you skagged their watchdogs?" **Kill Switch asked.

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Susie gently chewed on her bottom lip in thought and said, **"Whoever summoned those elementals would know the instant they were destroyed."** Shaking her head slightly she said, **"But they won't be able to follow me here from that."**

**.**

"**But they will be alerted that something went wrong,"** Akiko said.

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Susie nodded and said, **"Yes...any time a spirit is dispelled or destroyed, the summoner knows the spirit is gone."**

**.**

Cole thought over the situation a moment. **"What do you think about projecting again and following the southern trail?"** he asked.

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Susie's two-color eyes narrowed in concentration. After a moment she exchanged her pensive look for a bright smile. **"Well I'm game," **she said. The smile contracted a bit as Susie's eyes widened into a hungry look.** "But this time I'm going loaded for dire bear."**

**.**

Kill Switch smirked as he said, **"So would it be safe to say you're charging in '**_**sword swinging over your head like a crazed retarded banshee'?**_**"**

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Susie sighed. Remembering how she had yelled at the last elemental Susie admitted, **"Well...maybe just a **_**little **_**bit like a banshee." **

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"_**Crazed...**__**retarded**__**...**_**banshee,"** the dwarf corrected.

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Cole choked on his beer as most of the room burst into laughter, briefly drowning out the music. In the midst of the laughter, Neon tentatively raised her hand. Susie took notice and said, **"Sweetie, we're not in school. If you have something to say then just say it."**

**.**

Neon lowered her hand and said, **"I just thought you should all know that my filter programs scooped up some background info on the sarcophagus."**

**.**

That statement made everyone silent again. **"Well don't keep us in suspense,"** Kill Switch said impatiently. **"What did you find?"** he asked.

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Neon pulled her cyberdeck out from under the stuffed chair. As the decker hooked the wires up to her head she said, **"It might just be easier to show you."** Abruptly the music stopped, the trideo going blank. **"Now bear in mind,"** Neon said, **"the info I have is just what I could gather from public sources. I haven't done any hacking yet."**

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Video replaced the blank trideo screen. In the footage, several Arabic-looking men were using a motorized winch to raise something out of the water onto the deck of a boat. Neon's voice narrated the scene. **"What you are seeing is a clip from an unauthorized excavation in the Nile River earlier this year."** The object was large, and judging by the motions of the workmen, heavy as well. **"It was dredged up between the islands of Philae and Bigeh in the Upper Nile above the ruins of the old Aswan Dam."** As they gently lowered the plant and mud covered, oblong item to the deck of the ship, the camera focused in on the object. Neon froze the scene at the close up and asked, **"Anybody recognize this?"**

**.**

Susie quietly gasped and said, **"That's our sarcophagus!"**

**.**

The silent video footage showed the workmen using what appeared to be a large, high-pressure hose to clean off the sarcophagus. Thick black river mud washed off in sheets along with clumps of the greenish vegetation. As they played the white stream of water along the sides, solid chunks of something fell out from the lid seam. Abruptly an Anglo man appeared in the footage, obviously yelling at the hose operators. In the end he snatched the hose away from the Arabic men and turned a greatly reduced water flow across the sarcophagus.

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The image changed on the trideo, now showing what appeared to be official paperwork.** "After an initial inspection the of the hieroglyphs, the archeological team dated the sarcophagus from between 3000 and 3200 BC. That was just before Narmer, the first Pharaoh. That was also supposedly long before anyone was using a sarcophagus."** The scene on the trideo changed again. It now showed hand written pages and still images of the sarcophagus.** "It was clear to the team that even though the lead seal for the lid was disintegrated, they still couldn't open it,"** Neon said.** "The lid had also been sealed magically."**

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Zag snorted and said, **"How in the hell is that possible? The ancient Egyptians didn't have any magic."**

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Susie cleared her throat and said, **"That's not exactly true. I was taught that the mana, or magical energy, comes and goes in cycles over thousands of years."** Susie paused, staring at the trideo. She glanced around the room seeing confusion on many of the faces. **"Okay; magical energy permeates the Earth in phases,"** she said. Susie moved her hand and arm in an up-and-down undulating motion. **"Mana flows like this: sometimes greater, sometimes less, in cycles of slightly more than five-thousand years. The last magical cycle ended around 3100 BC, and then we entered the next age without magic, which contains most of human history. In 2011, the Awakening happened: the return of the magical cycle."** After a moment of thought she gestured to the screen and said,** "If they were right about this thing's age...it **_**could**_** have been sealed up right at the end of the last magical cycle."**

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With a small start, Cole remembered during his first meeting with the Johnson that the elf made a comment about an earlier era. **"During the 'Fourth World'?"** he quietly asked.

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Susie turned to face him. After a moment she said, **"Yes, exactly: the Fourth World. One of my professors at MIT&T called it the 'Fourth Earth Age' but he was a bit pretentious."** Her look turned appraising as Susie arched one brunette eyebrow and gave Cole a half smile. **"Is magical theory one of your hobbies, Cole?"** she asked.

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The ork shook his head and said,** "No."** He pressed his lips tight, thinking. After a moment he continued, "**But when the Johnson was offering me this job, he mentioned something about the Earth Ages and the Fourth World."** Everyone stared at him. Cole glanced once around the room, sensing their unasked questions. He shrugged and said, **"It was just one offhand comment. I didn't even remember it until just now."**

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After a few seconds Neon continued her discourse. **"So anyway, the research team discovered many of the hieroglyphs on the sarcophagus were of an unknown type, but the recognizable ones claimed that the guy sealed inside was Wsir, or as the rest of the world knew him: Osiris."**

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Kill Switch loudly blew his breath past his lips. As the group turned to look at him the dwarf said, **"Wait a minute, now, hold on! You mean the **_**actual**_** Osiris? Wasn't he one of their frigging **_**gods**_**?!"**

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"**The myth is that Osiris was killed by his brother Set and chopped to pieces,"** Cole said.** "Isis, the wife of Osiris, collected the pieces and buried him. Osiris was resurrected somehow and became the god of the dead."**

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Everyone looked at Cole in surprise. The ork shrugged at their looks and said, **"I worked in Egypt for awhile, with Desert Wars. When I was off duty, there wasn't much to do there because the locals still don't like metahumans, orks and trolls especially. So I holed up in the barracks and read up on the ancient culture, getting out to see what tourist sights I could."** He gave a slight smile and added, **"Eventually I even became pretty good at the local lingo."** Neon and the twins were still staring at him. Frustrated at their unconscious bigotry he said, **"What's wrong?"** Cole's face assumed a vacant look as he hunched his shoulders and adopted the patois of the ork stereotype, **"Whatsamatta, huh? Don'tcha know summa us orkses ken read? I's is da firss in my litter ta done grad-ee-ayted da' secont grade." **As he straightened back up he saw at least Neon had the good grace to flush in embarrassment.

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Kill Switch snorted loudly and said, **"Do you** **all realize how completely befok this sounds?"** The dwarf shook his head and continued, **"We're supposed to believe some dead god is magically locked inside the box downstairs?"**

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Cole slapped Kill Switch companionably on the shoulder and smiled. **"I'm not telling you to believe anything, chummer. I don't go to church anymore either," **he said.

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Susie drew up her feet and shifted around on the loveseat to face Kill Switch. **"Well, **_**something**_** is inside the box, something important or valuable enough to seal it up tight with a type of magic I've never seen before."**

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"**Are you qualified to make that judgment?"** Zag asked.

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Narrowing her two-color eyes Susie said, **"Well...I have a Bachelor's in Sorcery with a minor in Artificing from MIT&T...on a full-ride scholarship. I was a thesis away from earning my Master's in Magical Theory and Arts here at Seattle U. I can't discuss magic with say, Lofwyr or another immortal dragon."** She shrugged and added,** "But for this, admitting my own lack of knowledge, I'm **_**pretty**_** sure I know what I'm talking about." **

**. **

The group was silent. Clearing his throat Cole asked, **"So what's it doing** **here in Seattle? I mean I know Seattle U does lots of magical research, but why didn't the Egyptians keep it there?"**

**.**

"**Sorry, I was just getting to that,"** Neon said. The image changed again back to a simple still of the sarcophagus. **"Apparently, this archeological expedition was not being handled by the Egyptians. It was an outside group and the Egyptians are never happy about **_**anything**_** leaving the country."**

**.**

"**Who was it?"** Akiko asked.

.

Suddenly looking deflated Neon said, **"I haven't been able to find out. I would need to do some hacking for that."** She smiled and said **"We've got a couple of good leads from what I've found so far, something to do with a smaller corp named Asar. I was going back into the Matrix soon so I can..."** Neon's voice trailed off as she slumped backwards, eyes staring up at the ceiling.

.

Cole was about to say something but found himself going slack as well, slouching back into his chair. He noticed that everyone else was experiencing the same thing.

.

As everyone loosely fell back into their seats, their vision greyed. Suddenly in front of their eyes was an immense open desert. The bright, nearly white sands contrasted with the deep azure sky. Not a cloud marred the atmosphere. A furnace hot wind blew, scattering the sands and bringing a dry flinty smell. The sun glowed hotly above. All of them felt feelings of pride, and even love for the dusty land spread out before them. A deep sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, even victory, filled them.

.

Abruptly everything changed. Down they fell, thrown into darkness and cold. The dark was such an impenetrable black, so empty and yet so crushing, that most felt tears run down their cheeks. The cold was so sharp and encompassing that it seemed to pierce their very souls. Sorrow and a sense of loss flooded over them, so vast it nearly consumed them. In that final moment of cold, dark fear they heard a voice speak. In a tone full of anguish and desperation it said, _**"Help me...please help me."**_

_**.**_

As soon as it was over everyone sat up. Neon pulled the wires from her head, killing the images on the trideo. Cole straightened up in his chair, glanced around the room and asked, **"Is everybody all right?"**

.

Kill Switch had his hand clutched at his neck, absently fingering his magical charm. **"What the fuck was that?"** he whispered.

.

Susie head snapped up from lying on the back of the loveseat. **"That was a sending,"** she replied jumping up off the loveseat, Akiko a heartbeat behind. Both women dashed for the stairs. As they descended, the room burst into noise and motion. Everyone leapt up from their seats and charged to the stairwell to follow Susie and Akiko.

.

Susie took the stairs down two at a time, Akiko right next to her. Susie knew her friend could have easily made it down the stairs ahead of her: the Japanese woman's chipped reflexes would have made short work of the distance. But Akiko kept right next to Susie, knowing that most likely what awaited them on the ground floor would need the mage's expertise and skill. They hit the ground floor and slowed down, hearing the noise of the rest of the team following. Susie crossed the short distance to the flatbed, Akiko next to her. Susie climbed up onto the truck and sat down right where she sat earlier. Cole, Kill Switch, Neon and the twins stood at the bottom of the stairs. Susie nodded to Akiko, gathered her power, and astrally projected for the second time that day. Once again the world took on the greyness of the astral plane. Susie spared one look at the team, noticing now that everyone had a similar dullness to his or her auras: the sending had affected them all.

.

She turned her gaze back to the sarcophagus and was shocked at what she saw. The bands of energy looped around the stone coffin were flickering. She leaned in close to inspect them. The bands continued to flicker and stutter, and small thin dark patches had appeared in the glowing bands, evidence that the power was fading. To her experienced eye, it was clear that whatever magic had created them was giving out. The hieroglyph spells continued their steady glow, giving no indication they were failing like the bands. Susie quickly checked the power tendril leading out to sea: it also appeared as before. She passed her hand close to it and felt the same astral thrum of power from earlier.

.

Although she deduced that the spells kept the box closed, Susie still had no idea how the spells were created. Making a snap decision, Susie decided to try and contain whatever was inside the sarcophagus. She gathered her magical power, and using a technique similar to the one used for reinforcing spell wards, (like the one around The Lair), Susie slowly channeled her power into the bands. As the new energy reinforced the bands their color grew brighter, and the dark patches slowly vanished. Susie felt apprehensive as she mingled her power with the ancient spells. The power that created the bands had a lingering malevolence to it, a faint magical whiff of something dark...and dangerous.

.

Susie felt resistance as she bolstered the spell with her power, almost a pressure against the bands, of something straining at them. She gathered a second measure of power and slowly insinuated it into the weave of the spell. Susie stopped after a few moments, worried that she would inadvertently undo the spell. Susie inspected her handiwork: it appeared she had blended enough of her energy with the ancient spells to prevent any more immediate decay. Upon astral inspection the bands looked mostly the same, but it was clear to any with the Art that someone had added energy to the spell. _"Better that than letting it open,"___she thought.

.

Susie returned to the material world. The rest of the team had crossed the floor to stand next to Akiko. They looked at her askance as she dropped off the flatbed. Kill Switch was the first to speak. **"Well don't leave us in the dark, girlie! What's up?"**

**.**

Susie glanced back up at the sarcophagus. **"The spells that kept the lid closed were starting to unravel,"** she said.

.

"**Were you able to do anything to correct that?"** Akiko asked.

.

Susie sighed and said, **"I'm not sure: I have no idea what the spells are. The only thing I felt I could do was add some power to the spells to, sort of, rejuvenate them."**

.

"**Is something trying to get out?"** Kill Switch asked.

.

Snorting Susie responded, **"What could possibly be trying to get out?" ** She opened her mouth to continue and suddenly shivered. **"Look, can we continue this upstairs?"** she asked.** "It's freezing down here." **

**.**

As everyone else reclaimed his or her hastily vacated seats Cole asked, **"So I understand some spells were wearing off and you perked them back up, but what was with that...vision, or what did you call it?"**

**.**

"**A sending,"** Kill Switch quickly added. **"It's called a sending."**

**.**

Susie plopped back down on the loveseat and said, **"Okay...I suspect the weakening of the spells allowed some sort of...magical echo from when they were created, and that was responsible for the sending."**

**.**

"**How long do you think your patch will work?"** Zig asked.

**.**

"**I really have no idea: I'm in uncharted territory here."** Susie sighed and added,** "But what I've done probably won't last too long."**

.

In a small quiet voice Neon asked, **"Then what are we going to do?"**

**.**

Kill Switch made an indignant noise and said, **"I **_**knew**_** this wasn't going to work. We should never have agreed to sit on the damned thing for a whole week. Snatch it and deliver it is the best way."**

**.**

"**Your preference is immaterial,"** Akiko said. **"Our current employer is not expecting to take delivery until the weekend."**

**.**

"**I don't know if I can keep the spells going for another four days," **Susie said. **"I may have to reinforce them everyday, maybe even more than once a day,"** she added.

.

Kill Switch groaned and quietly said, **"God, we are so screwed." **

**.**

Susie sighed in vexation and shot back up off the loveseat saying, **"I'm getting a drink and some food."**

**.**

As Susie moved to the kitchen and started taking out her absinthe and gear, the conversation stopped in the living room. No one spoke, each alone with his or her thoughts. Akiko was the first to break the silence. **"If the sarcophagus is unsafe, and we have no way to make it safe, then we must get rid of it."**

**.**

"**Get rid of it?"** Kill Switch asked sarcastically.** "Well I guess the Sound is only a few hundred meters away. We should just dump it there and forget about the rest of our pay!"**

**.**

Akiko turned to face the dwarf, her chrome gaze unreadable. **"Do not take your ire out on me because you are afraid. You know I suggest nothing of the sort. I would prefer to collect the remainder of what was promised to me, as I am sure we all do."**

Interjecting into the conversation Cole said, **"Then we need to get ahold of the Johnson, and convince him to take possession early."**

**.**

Susie snickered from the kitchen. **"Fat chance of that,"** she said. As she closed the microwave door on a plate of Aztechnology burritos she said, **"You know Johnsons **_**never **_**like to change their precious plans."**

**.**

Unfortunately, Cole and the remainder of the team knew the mage was right. _"Still,"_ the ork thought, _"we have to try."_ Rubbing his chin Cole said, **"Let's start by ringing his phone."**

**.**

Kill Switch whipped out his phone and started dialing. After a few seconds his face soured into a scowl. **"Aweh, boss. This is Kill Switch,"** the dwarf said into the phone. **"We got the package, but there's a serious problem. You need to call us."** Kill Switch harshly snapped his phone shut. **"Godamned voice mail, of course. Sonofabitch is probably down on Catalina Island with his pedicured toes in the sand."**

**.**

"**I might have another way to reach him,"** Neon said timidly. Everyone in the room stared at her. Uncomfortable under the suspicious looks, Neon said, **"I mean I didn't get offered the job until the day of the briefing at Dante's Inferno. He left the offer for me in one of my e-mail boxes. I wasn't given a phone number...I was given a local telecomm address for a Matrix location."**

**.**

"**Was he actually in the cyberspace when you met him?"** Cole asked.

.

Neon shook her head and said, **"No. He appeared on the wall of the construct room. He was probably hooked up to a simple piggy-back headset and someone else patched him through."**

**.**

"**If you could get him to contact you in there, could you patch everything through to the trideo here?"** Cole asked.

.

Neon though for a moment and said,** "Probably. I'm certain I could transfer audio. Since it's his construct, video might set off some alarms."** Neon thought for a moment and added,** "It would be a lot easier if someone could simply piggy-back with me."**

**.**

"**I think it would be better if he could hear from all of us,"** the ork said. **"And I don't think it's a good idea to let him know we know what was inside the crate."** Everyone in the room looked a bit uncomfortable. Cole glanced around the room at his teammates and asked, **"Everyone agreed? We have Neon try to track down the Johnson and get him to take the sarcophagus off our hands early?"**

**. **

The room gave murmurs and nods of assent. **"So ka. I'm on it,"** Neon said as she once again connected her head to her cyberdeck.

.

Neon flashed through the Matrix as quickly as she could. A short time later she was inside the construct room. Neon touched the dark wall screen to send a message to the Johnson that she was trying to reach him. Neon's Alice persona drew a tiny toy rabbit out from her pocket. Flipping the toy at the wall screen, it rapidly grew into an image of the White Rabbit. Her White Rabbit was a 'pager' program, designed to give her an alert when the wall screen in the Johnson's room became active.

.

Surprisingly, she did not need the White Rabbit. Before she had finished setting up her program, the wall went from black to static and then the Johnson appeared. The elf was in a dark location with none of his surroundings visible. He smiled those perfect teeth at her and said, **"Well, well, well! Hello there, Miss Neon!"** The Johnson took a long swallow of iced, amber liquor and asked,** "What can I do for you?"**

**.**

Before Cole had a chance to finish his second beer, the trideo cut from the ending of _Aldebaran Rising_ to a double image of Neon's Matrix persona, and the elven Johnson. The Johnson gave them a wide smile, his teeth nearly glowing. **"Greetings, team. To what do I owe this pleasure?"** he said.

.

Cole stepped around the loveseat and said, **"Good evening, Mr. Johnson. Thanks for taking our call."**

**.**

The elf drank deeply of his liquor and said, **"Always a pleasure, Captain, always a pleasure. What exactly is on your mind?"**

**.**

Cole swallowed and took a deep breath. **"Mr. Johnson,"** the ork said **"we secured your cargo last night, per our agreement."**

**.**

The Johnson laughed and clapped his hands in glee. **"Excellent! Oh bravo, team, bravo!"** he said. The elven Johnson leaned down into whatever camera pickup he had on his end, peered through the camera and said, **"It's good to see there were no casualties."**

**.**

"**Yes, we all survived,"** Cole said.

.

Kill Switch snorted and said under his breath, **"No thanks to you, dandelion-eater."**

**.**

The elf sat back into his seat and smiled. He gave them a look of mock confusion and said, **"I must say, Captain: your 'safehouse' bears a striking resemblance to Mistress Susie's living room."**

**.**

"**Ah...yes, sir,"** Cole said. **"That's because it **_**is**_** Mistress Susie's living room. And that is why we are contacting you."** The Johnson took another sip of his liquor and made no comment. Cole continued, **"Actually, we have run into a bit of a problem: namely your cargo has been...damaged."**

**.**

The elf's eyes narrowed. **"How was it damaged, Captain?"** the Johnson asked.

.

Cole crossed his arms and said, **"Actually, sir, it was because you weren't completely honest with us. Another shadowrun team hit the depository at the same time we did. In the ensuing firefight your crate was damaged and the truck you provided destroyed."** The elf stayed silent. **"Had you let us know there were other interested parties, we might have been able to prepare for the eventuality."**

**.**

With an edge in his voice the elf said, **"I thought you said that you were 'professionals'." **

**.**

Cole was shocked with the not-so-veiled insult. Shaking his head at the Johnson's comment he ruefully said, **"Wow, Mr. Johnson, just...**_**wow**_**."** The ork crossed his arms over his chest and asked,** "Have you **_**ever**_** done this type of work before?"**

**.**

Before he could say anymore Kill Switch spoke up. **"Listen up you ignorant git: you've got a lotta nerve saying we're not pros. We got that Korean shit-box truck you provided shot out from under us in a running gun battle. We cracked off hundreds of rounds! Those slags jumped out of a fucking **_**government helicopter**_** in the middle of a **_**thunderstorm**_**!" **The dwarf motioned with his thumb to Susie and said, "**Our Irish spell-singer had to shoot that chopper down because we didn't bring any artillery. And why was that?"** Kill Switch shrugged dramatically and started to pace the room. ** "Oh, I don't know, maybe because we had **_**NO**_** idea some heavy-hitter was trying to grab the same crate."** He paused, shook his head, and then continued,** "I ended up dragging some kinda spirit for **_**blocks**_** until she could get rid of it. That spirit finished off the truck and we had to get another vehicle. A lot of our plan to sit on your cargo depended on the wasted truck. And now were stuck in an alternate safehouse just to sit on your frigging crate for a week!"** Kill Switch took a deep breath and continued in a much quieter voice,** "So don't you **_**dare**_** sit there all smug, knowing you kept such important info to yourself, and say we're not pros."**

**.**

The whole room was silent, a little stunned at the dwarf's tirade, the Johnson included. The elf drained his tumbler and then said, **"Perhaps you're right. I must admit to a certain...ignorance in how these matters are handled. I meant no criticism of your skills."** He paused to pour more bourbon. **"But in my own defense, I had been assured by other...professionals that the other 'interested party' had been handled. I honestly believed they would not be an issue."** The elf laced his fingers together on his desk, glass between his hands, and asked, **"So why have you contacted me?"**

**.**

"**We think that it would be best if you could accept delivery of your cargo as early as possible,"** Cole said.

.

The Johnson leaned back in is chair. **"Though it would be very inconvenient to find a window in my other business, it might be possible,"** he said. **"When were you thinking?"**

**.**

Completely deadpan Cole said, **"Sir, if you were knocking on the front door right now it wouldn't be soon enough."**

**.**

The eleven Johnson sighed loudly. **"Give me a moment,"** he said. The Johnson pressed a button on his desk, freezing his image as he went offline.

.

Cole turned to Kill Switch, his displeasure evident. **"Holy shite, chummer! Could you have been any **_**less**_** tactful?"** he asked.

.

Kill Switch stuck his chin out defiantly and said, **"Hey now, don't you go all PC on me ya' big tree. I know you hate Johnsons like that as much as I do...always 'forgetting' something important that nearly gets us killed."** Kill Switch _hmphed_ and quietly added,** "And this damned Keeb is worse than most..."**

**. **

The Johnson's static image jumped back into real time, cutting off the dwarf. The elf sighed again and said, **"Very well, Captain. I can arrange to meet you tomorrow night. We can meet at 878 Alaskan Way West. Do you know where that is?"**

**.**

Cole looked at Kill Switch. The dwarf nodded and said, **"Yeah, sure. That should be just north of Lee Chee Garden Restaurant on Elliot Bay up in Lower Queen Anne."**

**.**

The Johnson nodded and said,** "It is mostly industrial, but there is a very small wharf at that location for leisure craft. My boat, the **_**Rerek**_**, will be at docking slip three."**

**.**

Cole nodded and said, **"We will see you tomorrow, sir."**

**.**

The Johnson's face filled the screen as he leaned in close to the pickup. "**I hope you understand what a difficulty this is, Captain. My schedule is being significantly disrupted by this change of plan. I am setting aside other important business for this."**

**.**

Kill Switch seemed about to speak again. Cole stepped in front of the dwarf and said, **"Yes, we understand. Thank-you, sir. We'll see you tomorrow."**

.

The Johnson nodded said **"Yes. See you all tomorrow." ** He then pressed a button, terminating the connection.

.

.

Cole stepped back from the truck, taking a swallow of beer and admiring his handiwork. Once the videoconference with the Johnson was over, he and Kill Switch had gone downstairs and attempted to reassemble the crate. The outside temperature must have risen, as the downstairs was warmer than it had been during the day.

.

As Kill Switch was putting the tools away, Cole heard a soft step behind him. He turned to see Susie sitting on the steps sipping from a large ceramic mug. A few wisps of steam rose past the rim of the cup. Cole stepped over to her and asked, **"Whatzup?"**

Susie dragged her odd two-color eyes away from the now completed crate. **"I just wanted to see your progress,"** she said.

.

Kill Switch stumped over to the stairs. With a noise that was part grunt, part groan, and part sigh he sat down next to Susie. The dwarf fished around in his jacket pocket and pulled out a tiny plasma lighter and a joint.

.

He blazed up, drawing the pungent sweet smoke deep into his lungs, and then passed the joint to Cole. The ork took a long hit, the coal at the end of the joint glowing a nearly incandescent orange. He held the smoke for what seemed like forever before finally exhaling. **"That's pretty sweet, omae,"** he said to Kill Switch.

.

The dwarf took another toke, and held out the joint to Susie. She arched one brunette eyebrow at him. **"It's good: it's Madagascan Amethyst,"** Kill Switch hissed as he tried to speak and hold in his hit.

.

Susie took the joint from Kill Switch, took a long toke and passed it back to Cole. She let out her hit and said thanks to the dwarf.

.

They sat in silence as they got high, Susie waving off after her second hit. Once the joint was finished, Susie drained her mug. She gave a breathy, _**"Mmmm,**_**"** and said, **"I feel pretty good."**

**.**

Kill Switch _tsked_ and said, **"You should at over a hundred nuyen a quarter."**

Susie stood and turned to go back up the stairs and said **"I'm off for bed, its been a long day."** She stopped after the first step and said, **"I almost forgot: if you want, you guys can sleep in the extra room across from mine."**

**.**

"**Uh, thanks,"** Cole replied. Now that they had retrieved the gear from the unfinished house there were enough air mattresses and bedding for all of them. **"Isn't there another whole floor to this place?"** he asked.

.

With mysterious little smile Susie said, **"Yes. That's where I have my arcanum and conjuring circle."** An odd light sparked to life in her two-color eyes as she added, **"And The Lair."**

**.**

Cole looked confused, his though processes slowed a bit by the pot. **"The Lair?"** he asked.

.

"**It's just my...playroom," **she replied.

.

Kill Switch coughed and said, **"I don't think I want to know."**

**.**

Slightly bloodshot eyes sparkling, Susie gave a wicked little laugh and said, **"No...you probably don't."** She stood and nodded to Kill Switch. **"Thanks for the weed,"** she said,** "I feel like I'll be able to sleep without any dreams."** Susie flicked a glance at the crate. She sighed and said, **"I'm glad we're getting rid of it. I really don't want another four nights of dreams like I had last night."** Susie looked at both of them, the spark gone from her eyes. She nodded to them, Kill Switch in particular, and added, **"I'm sure it's the same...for both of you." **Susie turned back up the stairs. As she climbed she said, **"You guys should get some sleep too."** The dwarf and the ork both silently hoped their sleep would also be without dreams.

141


	13. Chapter 11:The Shadows Are Dangerous Pla

Chapter 11: The Shadows Are Dangerous Places

.

.

King sat at a table in Maximillion's, his back mostly to the wall. The weather had warmed up from the previous night's unusual freezing rain, driving off the clouds and melting the slush. To his left was a spectacular view of the Elliot Bay shoreline, illuminated by the multi-colored lights of the city. The third-quarter moon wouldn't be up for a few hours. King was glad he had chosen Maximillion's for the late dinner meeting with some new clients. He had arrived early to make sure of proper seating arrangements. King sipped his drink, savoring the Jack Daniel's as much as he savored the scrumptious odors wafting from the kitchen. He checked the time in his headware: his meeting should soon arrive.

.

Abruptly his phone rang. Out of courtesy to his fellow diners, King had it on 'silent mode' so it only rang in his headgear. Into his head blared, _**"Each night the covers were unfolded, each night it's Susie's turn to riiiide, while Charles...you know! The one they call her **__**BROTHER**__**! Covers on his eyes..."**_

.

King snatched his phone out of his jacket pocket. He enabled his scrambler and quietly answered, **"Hoi Suze. Whatzuhappenin?"**

**.**

"**Hoi, King,"** Susie's voice replied. **"Thanks for the lifeline the other night."**

**.**

King chuckled and said, **"Null sheen, my dear. That's what friends are for, after all."** He paused and then said, **"I hope your current endeavor is going better than the last time we spoke."**

**.**

Susie sighed loudly, telling King all he needed to know. **"It's been...a bit more difficult that I usually like,"** she said.

.

"**Well, it'll all be over in a couple of days, once your mystery elf takes possession,"** King said.

.

"**Actually,"** Susie said, **"that's kinda why I'm calling you."** She paused and then continued, **"After the problems we encountered, we got ahold of the Johnson and he agreed to make the pick-up early."**

**.**

King frowned, and although Susie couldn't see it, she could hear it in his voice as he said, **"Early? That's odd. I thought he was going to be away until the weekend."** King took another swallow of liquor and asked, **"When is he picking up the cargo?"**

**. **

"**We're leaving in just a few minutes to make the drop off,"** Susie said.

.

King could hear Susie's heels clicking as she paced. Feeling uneasy about this atypical behavior on the part of any Johnson, King asked, **"And where is the meet?"**

**.**

"**At a boat dock, up in Queen Anne, on Elliot Bay,"** Susie replied.

.

King cogitated on that for a moment. _"I could probably see the drop point from right here,"_ he thought, looking out the window of Maximillion's. **"Watch your six, Suze. Nothing about this job has worked like it should."**

**.**

Susie sighed again and said, **"Don't I know it."** She was silent for a few more seconds. Susie abruptly spoke up and said, **"You know: since this 'run will be over tonight, Akiko and I were making plans for Christmas and New Year's. Howsabout you and Zaria swing over for some food?"**

**.**

**.**

King grimaced and said, **"Zaria and I aren't seeing each other any more."**

Susie's tone turned softer as she said, **"I'm sorry."** After a moment's pause she continued, **"Well just you then."** When he didn't respond Susie said,** "Come on, it'll be fun. I was gonna make spaghetti."**

**.**

King snorted in amusement. **"**_**You**_** are going to cook?"** he asked incredulously.

.

"**Watch it, your Majesty,"** Susie said in mock anger. **"Even I can pull off something as simple as spaghetti."**

**.**

"_**Hmmm**_**,"** King said, **"sounds like fun."** He sighed a moment later and said,** "But I'm going to hafta take a rain check, Suze."**

**.**

"**Oh,"** Susie replied, sounding disappointed. **"What are you doing then?"**

**.**

King heard the tone and immediately felt sorry. **"I'm off to Chiba day after tomorrow," **he replied.** "I'll be gone until the fourth."** King saw his meeting had arrived. He caught their attention and waved them over. **"Listen, my biz just got here and I gotta go. I'll try and give you a call tomorrow and you can tell me about tonight."**

**.**

"**Sure. Null sheen,"** Susie replied. **"If we don't talk before you go, have a safe trip and a Merry Christmas."**

**.**

As his meeting approached King distractedly said, **"Thanks, and Merry Christmas to you too."**

.

There was no sound from the other end. Feeling a little guilty King added, **"Look, we'll get together after the New Year. Okay, Suze?"** The line was still silent. **"Susen'ka?"** King said a bit confusedly. He looked at the phone and realized Susie must have already hung up. As King shook hands with the men he was meeting, he was unable to shed his feelings of regret that he had brushed Susie off like that. _"I'll bring her something back with me to make up for it,"_ King thought.

.

Susie absently deposited her phone back into her pocket, staring into her arcanum safe. Abruptly, she pulled out all of her disposable focuses from inside the safe. She hoped that nothing would go wrong at the drop, but it never hurt to be prepared. Susie hoped her general feeling of unease would abate once the crate was delivered and out of their lives. She closed the door to the safe, spinning the dial and then listening momentarily as the electronics double-locked the door.

.

Susie exited the arcanum and entered The Lair. Whereas her arcanum was a proper (if disorganized) place of work, The Lair was nothing of the sort. It was a place where Susie indulged in pure pleasure. As she slowly sauntered across the room, past all of her equipment, her heels echoed oddly off the sound-deadening tiles. Her reflection flickered in and out of her vision as she passed the mirrored panels, momentarily lost in all of the wicked memories she had generated in this room. Susie lovingly dragged her hand along the top of the sawhorse table, once again wishing that her Charles had lived long enough to be in this room. He would have loved it as much, if not more so, than she did. Susie was mostly unaware that her breath had quickened. A delicious heavy yet aflutter feeling circled around the lowest part of her belly as Susie relished the mental visions of how her Charles would have..._entertained_ her in this place.

.

A voice interrupted her fantasies. **"Susie, it is nearly time to go,"** Akiko said.

.

Susie looked up at her friend with a start. She had not heard Akiko enter The Lair. Susie gave her friend a half smile and said, **"Okay. Let's get going." **Both women exited the room, Susie producing a large key ring to lock the door. Once they descended the stairs, the mage used the same key ring to lock the door to the stairs as well. With Susie's sanctum made secure they continued to the loading dock, Susie stashing the keys in her jacket pocket.

.

On the ground floor, the remainder of the team was finishing making ready to leave. The newly reassembled crate sat atop the flatbed, covered with a tarp and strapped down tightly. Kill Switch was already behind the truck's steering wheel, Neon next to him. Zag sat in the roadster's driver's seat, Zig just now easing down through the passenger door.

.

Cole was making some final adjustments to his body armor. The ork looked even larger than his two-meters plus. He hadn't worn the armor on the initial shadowrun; it was too bulky and liable to attract attention on what was supposed to be a stealthy insertion. While heavier body armor wasn't _precisely_ illegal, Lone Star was liable to take and interest in him should they observe him wearing it. With an eye toward concealment, Cole slipped a long, desert tan coat over his armor. He reached inside the truck and passed two machine gun drums to Neon, and then settled his bulk into the seat next to her. The ork flipped the barrel of his machine gun upright and started slipping small grenades into the magazine for the under-barrel launcher.

.

Neon inspected one of the drums, rotating it in her hands. The hefty drum looked a bit like a barbell, with a stripe of red tape across the back. She stared at Cole for a moment, watching as the ork loaded grenades with military precision. Apprehensively looking over his now armored form, the decker quietly asked, **"What does the red tape mean?"**

**.**

After Cole loaded the last grenade he turned to Neon. In a curt voice he said, **"EX- explosive rounds."**

**.**

Neon's eyes widened as she nearly recoiled. Gingerly holding out the drum to Cole she asked, **"Is all of this really necessary?"**

**.**

Grimacing he said, **"No, probably not."** The ork seemed lost in thought as he considered his own words. After a moment he said, **"It could just be the bad vibes from the crate, but I don't have a good feeling about this."** Kill Switch grunted his approval of the statement. Neon motioned with the drum for Cole to take it. He took the explosive round drum and stuffed it into a rucksack. The other he attached to the gun, racking the first round and engaging the safety.

.

Kill Switch gave a small snort. He motioned with his chin and said, **"I see our spell singer is finally ready to go."**

**.**

Cole and Neon cast their gaze across the loading dock to Susie. The mage flipped back a knee-length black overcoat, tucked up her vinyl skirt, and mounted her Arktis. As Susie threw her right leg over the Messerschmitt's seat, she inadvertently graced the crew in the truck with a brief flash of black nylon-covered crotch. **"I think she and Akiko were upstairs grabbing all of her magical stuff,"** Cole said.

.

Kill Switch snickered and said, **"Or they were spending a little...**_**quality time**_** together."**

**.**

Neon gave the dwarf a dark look. Cole shook his head and asked, **"Chummer, what is **_**wrong**_** with you?"** The dwarf chuckled in response.

.

They saw Susie settle the scabbard of her magesword, turn and give Akiko a thumbs up. The Japanese woman nodded, starting up her commandeered Yamaha Switchblade. That was the signal for everyone else to start his or her respective vehicles. Susie activated the garage door, simultaneously turning off the loading dock lights. Akiko rolled out first, followed by the twins in the roadster. Kill Switch ponderously swung the truck around and out into the night. Susie followed sweep, closing the door behind her. Kill Switch slotted a music chip into the truck's sound system. Techno Viking's _Curbstomp_ filled the cabin as they followed the Switchblade and 440ZX into the night.

.

The motorcade got on the Alaskan Way Viaduct next to Safeco Field, just north of Susie's Massachusetts Avenue building. They wove through the northbound traffic, following the single remaining industrial rail line along the edge of Puget Sound. Shortly they dropped down to Alaskan Way proper as the Viaduct ended. The softer lighting of the Renraku Arcology briefly replaced the stark glow of the city. As they waited at a stoplight, Cole glanced out the window, watching the good little sararimen and women moving about in the Renraku atrium. As the light changed and they started to move again, Cole caught their reflection in the vast silvery-green mirrors of the arcology.

.

With the city on their right, the ritzier end of the waterfront rolled past them on their left. Swank offices, high-end restaurants, and condos with a view dominated the waterfront. Downtown had long since converted many of the numerous shipping docks and quays of the twentieth century into exclusive real estate.

.

Akiko was mildly worried as they slowed down. Along Alaskan Way were a great many tourist attractions, and the flatbed tended to stand out, looking out of place in the midst of the tidy, well-lit streets. At the Broad Street stoplight, Akiko turned around to check out the truck. She quickly saw Cole had rolled up his window and removed his helmet to better blend into the crowded street. As the light changed she sedately rolled through the intersection, passing one of the gold and blue Lone Star patrol cars. Keeping her head straight ahead, she used her cybernetic peripherals to scope the officers. Both looked preoccupied, staring through their group and ogling a gaggle of teenaged girls prancing along the sidewalk.

.

They continued along Alaskan, paralleling Elliot Avenue West. Still following the rail line they drove along the semi-industrial areas that had once been Elliot Bay Park. The only green that remained were a few small carefully manicured spaces. The landscape turned back into docks as they passed the Lee Chee Garden Restaurant.

.

Just after the Lee Chee, they slowed and turned onto a tiny side street, each vehicle bouncing heavily as they crossed the rail line. Just as the Johnson described, the area was a large conglomeration of industrial shipping docks. Akiko used her GPS to guide their column, slowly maneuvering through the maze. Abruptly Elliot Bay was in front of them. They followed the roadway along the water, finally seeing the fenced off area with an open chain-link gate. Beyond the gate was a small series of quays jutting out into Elliot Bay, set against a backdrop of squat concrete and steel warehouses. A large LED sign declared the area was _"Private Property"_ and "_Security provided by Knight Errant Services"_.

.

Akiko considered that last was a stroke of luck. Although Lone Star was the properly contracted Seattle police department, it was illegal for them to cross over into most areas that provided private security, unless they had explicit permission or a specific request for assistance. Knight Errant and Lone Star had been in a pissing match over separate areas of the city for nearly twenty years.

.

Akiko led her teammates to the third slip. Most of the lighting in the area was dark, casting long deep shadows across the end of quay. The warehouses started at this point, directly across from the third slip. The slip itself was barely ten meters long. Snuggled up along side the concrete pier was the sleek bulk of a sportster yacht, completely dark except for its green and red running lights. Next to the boat sat a parked tow motor. At the shore-side of the pier near the first warehouse were two vehicles: a medium-sized SUV, and the dark gleaming length of a Mitsubishi limousine.

.

As their caravan slowed to a stop, the doors of both waiting vehicles opened and disgorged both passengers and drivers. Twelve figures stepped out into the gloom: ten corporate-styled security goons, and a pair of more aloof men. The goons assumed covering positions along the end of the slip, hands on weapons inside coats and jackets. Next to the first warehouse, Akiko rocked the Switchblade back onto its stand and dismounted, hand lightly touching her Walther. Susie pulled up next to, and slightly behind, Akiko, settling her own bike onto its stand. Kill Switch pulled the truck past the waiting vehicles and backed to face away from the water. Once he was finished parking the truck, the rest of her comrades piled out of the vehicles, tense but ready. The goons tightened up as they assembled along the end of the quay, but made no overtly threatening moves. This was just business.

.

The two detached men stepped into the feeble light. One was medium height carrying a small briefcase. Dark wraparound glasses covered his eyes, lending his chiseled handsome face an air of mystery. The obligatory custom-tailored corporate suit in a dark blue clothed his lean body, his dirty blonde hair coifed into a 200-nuyen haircut. The gold amulet adorning his neck and bejeweled staff-like walking stick most likely marked him as a mage.

.

The other man was the elf Johnson. He smiled those piercing white teeth and said, **"Hello, team, welcome! Right on time, of course, nothing less than I expected."** The elf snapped his fingers to the mage. The man handed him the small case. The Johnson stepped forward and reached out his other hand to the twins. Both shook the elf's hand rather stiffly. He snatched up Neon and spun her around, smooching her loudly on the cheek. Neon squealed in surprise, her face blushing as the elf set her down. She smiled and batted her eyelashes at him, coquettishly laying her hand across her chest. The elf gave a short bow to Akiko, and nodded gravely to the dwarf and Cole. He clicked his heels together and bowed slightly from the waist to Susie, hand held out, palm upright. She gave him a half smile and extended her gloved hand to him. The Johnson took and formally kissed the back of her hand.

.

At the overt demonstrations of their boss's friendliness, the goon squad relaxed slightly, their hands moving away from concealed weapons. The elf's mage companion gave the group a sardonic smile, shaking his head slightly as the Johnson offered the case to Cole. The ork did not extend his hand, and instead jerked his helmeted head to Kill Switch. Cole would not let his hand off the machinegun concealed under his long coat. Through a carefully sliced hole in the pocket, Cole was still able to hold the weapon, his right hand never leaving the grip of his Ares machinegun. The elf turned and gave the case to the dwarf. Kill Switch opened the case, gave it a quick check. From inside the case, Cole and the rest of the team glimpsed credsticks and optical chips packed in foam. Kill Switch nodded to Cole and closed the case. The ork shrugged off his rucksack and tossed it the dwarf. Cole then stepped to the side and motioned with his left hand to the flatbed. **"Per our agreement, Mr. Johnson,"** he said.

.

The elf clapped his hands together loudly and said, **"Excellent! Let's see what you have brought me."**

**.**

Two of the Johnson's men quickly removed the straps from the crate and flipped off the tarp. The elf actually rubbed his hands together in joy as the box came into view. He walked around the truck, carefully inspecting the crate with his eyes. The elf paused at one point, reaching out to touch the Arabic lettering painted on the side of the crate. He nodded to the mage who turned and peremptorily waved at one of the goon squad. The man that had driven the SUV quickly jogged over to the tow motor. He pulled out the vehicle's control cable and plugged it into a jack on his temple. The tow motor rumbled to life and started to pull down the dock to the waiting flatbed.

.

The Johnson gave the Cole and the team another quick nod, his face back to business. He walked away, his custom shoes clocking on the concrete. The team stepped away from the truck as the tow motor drove towards it. An errant breeze from the bay wafted the rich scent of propane fumes to their nostrils, underlain with the odor of fish and rot.

.

The rest of the team ambled over to their waiting bikes and car. Cole stood back some, still scoping the area, instincts on high alert. His teammates were laughing amongst themselves as they leaned against the roadster, waiting for the Johnson's man to unload the flatbed. Cole watched the Johnson brush against his mage on his way to the boat. In that brief instant of contact, time seemed to almost stop for Cole.

.

In slow motion he saw the elf's jaw move as he said something to the man. The mage nodded slightly to his boss, his entire body language changing from languid boredom into tense eagerness. The mage turned to face Cole, a savage grin on his face. **"**_Oh, shit_**,"** Cole thought. Even as the male mage gave some sort of shouted command to the goon squad, Cole barked out to his teammates, **"Everybody **_**TAKE COVER **__**NOW**_**!"**

**.**

Susie, Neon, and the twins dashed for the corner of the closest warehouse even as Cole and Kill Switch ran for the roadster. As the corp soldiers drew assorted weapons, Akiko brought up her Model 100 submachinegun and cut loose with a long heavy burst to cover Cole and Kill Switch. She gave another quick burst while backing up toward the Nissan. Lances of gunfire erupted from the goon squad, near misses and ricochets pattering against the roadster, pavement, and the corner of the warehouse. Cole whipped his machinegun up from under his coat and fired at the oncoming corp soldiers as he ran. He wounded one, the others scattering and diving for cover behind the SUV and limo. The twins popped around the corner of the building, adding the fire from their AK-97s, killing the one Cole had hit and wounding at least one more.

.

In his apparent eagerness to follow the elf's wishes, the human mage had acted a few seconds too early. Those few seconds of time would prove critical, as the tow motor had not removed the crate from the flatbed. Kill Switch cursed loudly in his native Afrikaans and pulled the pin on a grenade. As he ran for the cover of the roadster, the dwarf hurled the grenade at the still maneuvering tow motor. The spoon of the grenade fell away in flight, briefly catching the dim light. Set for impact detonation, the grenade exploded as soon as it hit the pavement near the tow motor. Barely heard above the din of the gunfire, the grenade gave a flat _'whumpf'_ noise and burst into an incandescent white flame.

.

The blinding white fire spread across the concrete and up the backside of the tow motor, giving off prodigious amounts of white smoke. The driver noticed his peril a second too late. He tried to leap from the vehicle but the control cable connected to his head slowed him down. Before he could pull it loose, the white phosphorus burned through the hose to the propane fuel tank. The tank detonated with a much louder explosion than the grenade. Instantly engulfed in flames, the driver's burning body flew through the air to land on the pavement. Sliding down behind the roadster with Cole the dwarf chuckled evilly and growled,** "Willie Pete: gets 'em every time."**

**.**

The burning propane flared brightly, bringing back the lost daylight. A dirty, yellow and orange-flecked mushroom cloud, easily three stories in height, rose from the dock. Akiko looked to the sky as she dropped down next Cole and Kill Switch. **"It will be impossible to conceal this explosion. Law enforcement is certain to take notice,"** she said.

.

Cole fired off a burst from his machinegun, clipping the corner and taillight of the SUV, scattering reflective red bits of plastic across the pavement and dropping one of the goons. The man fell face down, adding his own redness to the concrete. As Cole hunkered back down behind the car he added, **"It could get even more dicey: Harbor Patrol is pretty Nazi about stuff like this. Firefights and explosions on the water are sure to bring 'em in eventually."**

**.**

Two miles away, King caught the glint of the fire in the corner of his eye. Breaking off his conversation in mid-sentence he turned around in his seat in trepidation, suddenly knowing something had gone terribly wrong at Susie's drop off. King smoothly covered his distraction, vowing to finish his biz as quickly as possible in case the team needed him again.

.

Akiko popped her head out from behind the front bumper of the roadster and assessed the situation briefly. Well hidden behind the SUV and limo, the goons took potshots as they could. Zig and Zag were doing the same, firing off and on.

Abruptly the male mage eased his face into view and snapped off a spell. Akiko quickly raised her submachinegun but seemed unable to hit him. His spell streaked out, an orange and red ball of fire roughly the size of volleyball. The fireball smashed into the corner of the warehouse and tore a two-foot chunk out of the wall. Kill Switch fired at the mage's feet, and again Akiko could clearly see the bullets veering around him, or falling short to strike the ground.

.

Susie jumped out from behind the wall and snapped off a spell. The male mage raised and crossed his forearms in defense, but he was not Susie's target. A streaking comet of blue and violet flame leapt from her outstretched hands and impacted with the side of the SUV. The corp grunts hiding behind the vehicle dashed for other cover as all of the windows in the SUV shattered and it burst into flames. The male mage flinched, ducking his head into his arms as he also ran for cover.

.

In that instant Akiko, Kill Switch, and Cole tried to make for the rest of the team. They jumped up from behind the roadster and ran for the less exposed position of the warehouse corner. Cole ran backwards, laying down an impressive amount of fire as he hosed the machinegun back and forth. With his short stature, Kill Switch was unable to keep up with Akiko. As Cole did his best to empty his machinegun, he grabbed Kill Switch by the back of his coat and tried to toss the dwarf to safety. In doing so he slacked off his fire enough that the corp thugs were able to retaliate. Cole was hit several times, his body jerking as the rounds hit home. The ork staggered and fell behind the warehouse into relative safety.

.

Zig and Zag pulled him further along the wall as he hissed through gritted teeth. In a voice full of pain Cole said, **"Damn...they're using armor piercing rounds."** The twins ripped away Cole's overcoat as Neon held his head. Blood was visible on top of the ork's left shoulder and just over his left kidney.

.

Cole grimaced in pain and nodded, his head in Neon's lap. It had been some time since he had been shot, and found that the experience had not improved since then. **"We need to get the hell outta here before we get killed."**

**.**

Kill Switch overheard and barked, **"What? On foot? That's befok: these clodhoppers would be on us in a second."**

**.**

"**Why have not chosen to disable our vehicles?"** Akiko asked as she ducked back around from shooting.

.

"**They're confident their mage can get finish us off. He's positively sparkling with devices,"** Susie said.

.

After a quick assessment of Cole's injuries, Zag glanced over his shoulder as Akiko, Susie, and Kill Switch fired around the corner of the building. **"I really need the Medkit for this,"** he said.

.

Flicking a glance back at the blonde man, Kill Switch spat, **"Well don't talk about it, just get to work."**

**.**

"**I can't. The Medkit is in the back seat of the roadster,"** Zag replied.

.

Both women flicked a glance at Zag. Susie took a short breath and said, **"Never mind: I'll heal him."** She set her Ingram smartgun down on the pavement and started to speak in Gaelic.

.

Akiko grabbed Susie's arm and said, **"Do not. If this mage is like you say, we will need your power to eliminate him."** The Asian woman looked out at the roadster, her chrome eyes unreadable. **"I will get the Medkit,"** she said. Bullets spanged and pattered off the pavement as Akiko divested herself of extra equipment. She dropped her Model 100, combat webbing, and extra ammo. She took only her Walther, tucking it inside her armored jacket. **"Please give me some covering fire,"** Akiko said to the group.

.

Susie grabbed her friend's arm and quietly said, **"You don't have to do this. I have enough strength to heal him and zero out that pet mage."**

**.**

Akiko covered Susie's hand with her own and said, **"Save all your power for him."** Seeing the concern in Susie's two-color eyes Akiko said, **"I will return in a moment."**

**.**

"**Be careful, my **_**Nee-chan,**_**"** Susie said.

.

Akiko nodded and said, **"I shall be the soul of discrete caution."** Hearing her own phrase, Susie snorted in gallows humor. Akiko glanced once at the remainder of the team and asked, **"Covering fire, please?"**

**.**

Cole passed Zag his Ares machinegun. Zag grinned and gave his AK-97 to Kill Switch, giving them all fully automatic weapons. The team got into position, Zag standing, Zig hunched down next to him, Susie down on one knee, Kill Switch next to her. Akiko readied herself, poised to sprint to the relative safety of the car.

.

At her nod her comrades flipped around the corner and cut loose with a fusillade of rounds. The corp soldiers dove for cover as the team poured on the fire. Most were able to duck down behind the fairly well-armored Mitsubishi limo quickly enough, all save one man trying to sneak around the burning SUV. Caught in the open, he quickly succumbed to the massive amount of fire, his body jerking and twisting and finally laying still.

.

Akiko was only a millisecond behind the barrage, her reflexes propelling her across the intervening meters. She used the bulk of the roadster to stop her travel, thumping hard into the side of the car. Akiko quickly opened the door and rummaged around in the back seat for the Medkit. She grasped the handle of the case and looked back the way she came.

.

Her teammates had already jumped back behind the wall as the corporate return fire started. Akiko took a few quick breaths to pump more oxygen into her system and prepared to run again. The amount of fire from the corp soldiers was immense, chipping and shattering the corner of the warehouse even more. None of the gunfire hit the roadster, making Akiko surmise that none of their enemies had seen her sprint to the car. From her angle Akiko could see Zag peeking, momentarily shying away from the bullet and concrete fragments erupting from the corner of the warehouse. He gave her a thumbs up to show they were ready and waiting for her signal. Akiko assumed a runner's starting stance, checked her reflexes one last time and nodded to Zag.

.

As before, the four members of her team popped out from behind the wall, guns blazing. Akiko was momentarily reminded of the Stuffer Shack cashier from two nights ago. She heard one shriek of pain from behind her as some corp boy did not get out of the way fast enough. Akiko took that shriek to be her sign from the gods to run. She exploded up from behind the roadster, head down, arms pumping, her feet barely touching the ground. Never in her life had she run so fast.

.

Abruptly Akiko felt a pressure from behind her. She dared not stop, slow, or turn to see what it was. Something slammed into Akiko's back from her right side, something incredibly hot and heavy...and painful. The Asian woman felt herself lifted off her feet, limbs windmilling as she careened sideways. The Medkit flew from her hand, flipping out like a frisbee to clatter just behind the corner of the warehouse. _"At least Cole will survive,"_ Akiko thought. She saw the horror on Susie's face as her friend's mouth opened to scream. Akiko had one last thought of faint regret that there were so many things she had not experienced...and then the ground rushed up and crashed into her, stopping her pain.

.

Susie had leaned out at Akiko's signal. Her Ingram was almost too hot to function properly. She poured on the fire, Zag and Zig deafening her from above, Kill Switch from below. Susie saw one corp goon go down hard with a shriek, twitching and convulsing as their gunfire chewed him to pieces. _"Now, Nee-chan: RUN!"_ Susie thought to Akiko. Her friend wait a half second longer and then burst into movement. She had never seen Akiko move so fast. Susie felt an abrupt change in the local mana levels and realized the pet mage was casting a spell. Susie reached out a hand to try and lend some magic defense to her friend, but before she could, the mage's spell went off.

.

A vaguely bestial head made of flame lanced out from next to the limo. Trailing streamers and sparks, the leering head streaked out and impacted Akiko, knocking her headlong and lifting her several feet into the air. The Medkit flipped out of Akiko's hand and skidded across the ground to come to rest near Susie's booted foot. She opened her mouth to scream, only to feel Zig yank her back behind the wall.

.

Susie fell over onto her backside as her Ingram clattered to the pavement next to her, the scream dying in her throat. She sat thunderstruck for what seemed like an eternity, the noises of gunfire sounding hollow and far away. Susie saw Zag wrench open the Medkit and immediately get to work on Cole. She absently noticed Neon had tears running down her cheeks, cutting streaks through her light makeup.

.

At last Susie snapped out of her paralysis and scooted down the wall to get a better view of where Akiko had landed. She was several meters away, her jacket still smoldering, lying facedown...lying very still. Teeth clenched in anger, Susie stood, grasping the hilt of Briosaid to activate the weapon focus and started to gather her power.

.

Kill Switch saw what she was doing. The dwarf grabbed her arm and said, **"Best to let her go, girlie. We'll never get over there and back without getting skagged."**

**.**

"**We can't just leave her there,"** Neon gasped.

.

Zig fired off a few more rounds at the corp boys to keep their heads down. **"She is my comrade too, but the mage will surely attack us again should we try to save her. It's madness for all of us to possibly die to go save her, "** he said.

.

"**If you want to hide then stay here and hide,"** Susie said. "**If you want to run to safety... then run." **Susie yanked her arm loose from Kill Switch, bared her teeth and hissed, ** "I'll go out there alone if I have to. I don't **_**need**_** your fucking help: **_**any of you**_**." ** Heterochromic eyes blazing Susie said,** "She is **_**my **_**friend...my **_**sister**_**, the only family I have, and I will **_**not**_** leave here without her."**

**.**

From behind Zag, Cole spoke up and weakly said, **"I'm not going anywhere without her, either."**

**.**

Zig looked back and forth between Susie and Zag. Zag shrugged slightly as he continued to work on Cole. Zig hefted the Ares machinegun and activated the grenade launcher. He leaned against the wall and got ready to jump out. **"Very well, then. Let's flush out the mage so you can eliminate him,"** he said.

.

Zig popped out from behind the wall and fired the grenade launcher. With a heavy coughing noise the grenade spurt out and impacted the pavement near the front of the limo. The explosion rocked the car, and drove several of the men behind it out in the open. One was the mage. Zig switched over to the machinegun, Kill Switch reluctantly adding fire from his borrowed assault rifle. The corp soldiers dove for cover again. Unlike his comrades, the mage stood still. With an arrogant smirk on his face he seemed immune to the hail of bullets.

.

Cole watched as Susie spoke in some foreign language, something full of vowels. She pulled out some sort of small object and held it in one hand. Susie made one small step to the side, bringing herself into view of the male mage. She stretched out her arms and curled her hands into fists, the right one enclosing the object. Susie quickly windmilled her arms at the shoulder, spinning them in wide circles, each going opposite the other. With each circuit, brilliant tracer-like violet and white colored power crackled behind her arms. In less than a second the power had woven itself into a pair of white and violet coruscating wheels. With a savage shout, Susie let loose the spell.

.

The white and violet energy lanced out from her hands like a living stream of liquid fire, dripping bits and pieces as it sought out the male mage. Cole thought it looked much like the discharge of a flamethrower. The male mage's smirk dropped as he once again brought up his hands in defense. Whatever defenses he had proved unequal to the task of defending against the spell Susie had let loose on him. Cole could hear the mage's rising screeches of pain as the eldritch fire enveloped him, covering his entire body like a living glove. The mage tried to get away from Susie, running down the dock, shrieking the entire way. With a feral smile, Susie pumped her outstretched arms. The male mage, still enveloped in liquid fire, and still screaming hideously, launched off the end of the dock and into the water.

.

As soon as he hit the water, Susie's spell finished with an audible crack. She gasped and wavered on her feet, struggling to resist the drain. Susie made two staggering steps towards where Akiko lay. Suddenly Kill Switch yanked her out of harm's way behind the building, her eyes rolled back into her head as she started to collapse. Susie flopped and twitched on the pavement as the corp boys renewed their gunfire, the whites of her eyes clearly showing, a small amount of froth in the corner of her mouth.

.

Suddenly blue lights pierced the evening gloom and a siren blipped. Rolling onto the scene was a Chrysler Jackrabbit painted in Knight Errant Security's signature blue and grey. The loudspeaker blared out, **"This is a security control! Drop your weapons and lay face down on the ground! I say again: this is a security control! Drop your weapons and lay face down on the ground!"** The remaining corporate boys didn't seem to like the sound of that and opened fire on the small patrol car. Glass shattered and fairly exploded across the pavement as they blew out the windows. Both security cops dove out of the vehicle to hide behind the bullet resistant doors, then drew weapons and started shooting at the limo.

.

One rent-a-cop, the human driver, was down almost immediately, blood flowing freely from underneath his helmet. The other, an ork to judge by the size of him, kept up a furious rate of fire with his Mossberg shotgun. He stood tall, trying to back away to the more significant cover of the building as the shotgun spoke over and over. He dropped the scattergun as it emptied, fluidly drawing a Ruger Super Warhawk pistol, and proceeded to empty that as well. He was quick to drop the cylinder to reload, already bringing a speed-loader out of his belt.

.

The ork wasn't quick enough. Four corp goons popped up from behind the limo and poured on the submachine gun fire. The ork still stood, his armor absorbing most of the punishment. The ork cop managed to get his Warhawk reloaded, and get off two more shots before they took him down. One of the corp boys threw a grenade under the security car. With a muffled explosion the grenade went off, spreading flaming napalm across the bottom of the car and all over the pavement, the entire bottom of the Chrysler catching fire.

.

Zig and Kill Switch used the distraction of the exploding incendiary to pop out and kill or wound at least one more corp boy. They ducked back behind the wall, as suddenly everything was quiet. A dull boom broke the silence, one of the tires on the security car blowing out from the flames. The corp soldiers seemed to take this as some sort of signal. They all stood and opened up with everything they had. Giving their own covering fire, the remaining three men quickly backpedaled in spurts down the dock to the boat.

.

"**They're pulling back to the boat,"** Zig said.

.

Cole tried to heave to his feet. Zag put a restraining hand on his chest, even as Neon tried to hold his shoulders. He pushed them away, struggling to his feet. Kill Switch was exchanging magazines, as Cole finally got upright, gasping as his vision greyed slightly. Kill Switch grabbed Cole's arm and said, **"Aweh...Cole...c'mon its over. They're leaving."**

**.**

Cole shook him off and said, **"No. Screw that. You know how these guys are. He'll come after us again. We need to ice him."**

**.**

The dwarf ruefully nodded his head. He reached out to let Cole lean on him, drawing in Zig with a jerk of his head. Zag sprinted across the pavement to grab Akiko. **"She's alive,"** he called after them.

.

Cole, Kill Switch, and Zig made their way out to the dock. The Chrysler was still burning a merry hell, blocking off a fair amount of the dock entrance. The boat, now revealed as a Zemlya-Poltava Swordsman Cruiser, had just cast off. With a deep burble and gout of petro-smoke, the engines came to life. A small flag fluttered from the aft in a flicker of red, white, and black...something about the flag tugged at Cole's memory.

.

Pushing aside his recalcitrant memory, Cole grabbed his machinegun back from Zig and wrenched his rucksack off of the dwarf's shoulder. Quickly exchanging his standard drum for the explosive rounds, Cole dropped the bipod of the machinegun. Zig knew precisely what to do, proving he had military experience from somewhere. He grabbed the bipod and held the gun over his shoulder, ducking his head down as Cole opened up with the machinegun. Unlike his standard rounds, the EX-explosive rounds were all tracer. A lance of red fire jumped out of the muzzle of the machinegun, hitting the back of the boat. Tiny bursts showed where he scored hits on the hull and cabin. The aft windows shattered, vanishing in a blizzard of twinkling shards. The only response from the Swordsman Cruiser was to rev up the engines higher and try to get away.

.

Cole stopped firing and tugged on the machinegun, signaling Zig to let go. The ork quickly snapped up the bipod and repeatedly fired the grenade launcher. They could see the grenades impacting the rear of the boat, causing more damage. The final grenade was a white phosphorus. A few seconds after the sheet of white flame and smoke burst out from the grenade, the boat slowed and the engines stopped. Still trailing flame and smoke, the boat slowly drifted further out into the bay, clearly uncontrolled.

.

Zig bolted across the battlefield to help Zag gather up their mage and razor-girl. Cole slumped, hoping his job was job done. He tiredly looked around at the destruction: the still burning security car, two dead rent-a-cops, seven dead corp muscle boys, shot-to-shit SUV also still burning, and two of their team out of commission. _"Three if you count me,"_ he thought. Shaking his head he said, **"Let's get the hell outta here."**

**.**

"**You think you zeroed out the Keeb? "** Kill Switch asked.

.

Cole looked out across the water. The fire was now larger, completely engulfing the boat's cabin. **"No one's jumped overboard yet,"** he replied tiredly.

.

Bobbing his head the dwarf asked, **"What about the flatbed and crate?"**

**.**

Cole looked over to see the truck behind a growing sheet of flames. **"Fuck that thing. You know none of us wants it."** Cole glanced around and added,** "I'm going before anyone else shows up."** The ork and dwarf picked their way across the roadway. Realizing they needed another vehicle, Cole tried the door to the damaged limo to no avail: it had a biometric lock. He looked around to see if the driver of the limo was among the dead.

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"**What are you doing?" **Kill Switch asked.

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Cole waved around vaguely and said, **"Help me try and find the limo driver. He was wearing a yellow necktie."**

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Together they quickly located the limo driver's mangled body. It looked like the Knight Errant ork hit him with the Mossberg: most of the man's face was a red smear, his lemon-yellow tie mostly covered in his blood. Cole quickly unsheathed his combat axe and cut off the driver's right hand at the forearm. He used the severed hand to disengage the biometric lock, and to start up the limo.

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Kill Switch trotted across the roadway. Cole saw that Susie was up and leaning on Neon, most likely stim-patched. Zag was carrying Akiko in his arms. From the limp way the Asian woman hung in his arms, Cole judged she was still unconscious. **"Let's go," **Cole said to Zag.** "You drive so I can work on her in here."** Kill Switch jumped into the battered roadster, Neon right beside him. Cole thought it would have been better if Susie rode in the car, but suspected Neon couldn't ride a bike. Zig climbed on Akiko's Switchblade as Susie groggily mounted her own Arktis. Cole gave Zag the driver's seat and climbed into the back with Akiko and their depleted Medkit. As quickly as they could, the team pulled out, leaving behind the blood, the bodies, and the fire as the only signs they were ever there.

152


	14. Chapter 12: Gimme Shelter

Sorry for the delay between chapters, the holidays and my birthday took up a fair bit of my spare time.

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And thanks to the reader that took the time to write such a complimentary review :-) I'm glad that you (and others) are enjoying the story.

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Chapter 12: Gimme Shelter

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Cole jerked back against the wall of the storage unit. He had caught himself nodding off again. The ork glanced over at the comatose form of Akiko. The Medkit autodoc readout showed no change in her condition, for good or ill. On the floor next to her lay Susie, still unconscious from the drain of her rather intense spellcasting.

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The team had not gotten more than ten blocks before Susie fell over at a stoplight. The stim patch forcing her back to consciousness had worn off quickly. One moment she was sitting upright waiting for the light, the next she and her custom blue Arktis had fallen over onto the pavement. Cole had not dared give the mage another stim patch: too much and it was liable to permanently damage her magical abilities. Her incapacitation had forced a restructuring of who was driving what. Both twins had ridden the bikes and Neon reluctantly drove the roadster. With Kill Switch piloting the limo, Cole had continued to try and work on Akiko's wounds. In the end his skills had only been sufficient to stabilize her and prevent her death.

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After Susie's collapse, they had decided to hole up somewhere for a few hours. As Cole, Kill Switch, and Zig were unsure if the Johnson had survived the boat fire, they dared not risk returning to Susie's loft. If the elf had survived, he was sure to launch a retributive strike against them. Hanging out in a well-known place was out of the question. Kill Switch suggested a good plan to lay low for a short time in a public storage facility. It was cheaper than a coffin hotel, temperature and humidity controlled, and they could stash the bikes and car there if necessary.

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The dwarf had quickly arranged the storage unit, parked in the shadow of the Aztechnology pyramid. Cole and all three women had unloaded into the unit as the dwarf and Zig had left to ditch the limo. They couldn't be too careful. It was most likely traceable with GPS, not to mention the fact that such a large, expensive, and obviously damaged vehicle stood out like a sore thumb. Zag stayed in the unit to finish his interrupted repair of Cole's injuries. After doing all he could, Zag left as well, running out to secure a new Medkit to replace their completely used up one.

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Once Cole and Neon had made their two charges comfortable inside the unit, Neon had jacked in and pirated the wireless signal running the storage facility's cameras. First she had installed a loop of blank footage in place of their arrival. Second she took control of the cameras themselves and commandeered them to act as lookouts.

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Cole caught himself nodding again. He shook his head to try and shake off his sleepiness. Cole instantly regretted the action as it exacerbated his already terrible headache. The only sounds in the storage unit were the occasional beep from the Medkit, the slow breathing of the two unconscious women, and the soft tapping Neon made on the keys of her cyberdeck.

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Abruptly Susie twitched. Her body straightened out from its nearly fetal position. The mage groaned and sat up, immediately snatching off her blue-lensed smart-glasses and rubbing her eyes with the heels of her gloved hands. Once Susie pulled her hands away, Cole was a bit shocked. Both of her eyes were horribly bloodshot; the blue one had a larger spot of bright red where a blood vessel had burst. Susie saw Akiko lying on the floor next to her. She reached out and touched her friend's cheek, glancing at the autodoc readout. Without turning to face Cole, Susie said, **"She looks stable."**

**.**

Cole grunted and said, **"She is...for now. But this is all I could do. We either need to get her to a hospital...or someone that's skilled in healing magic."**

**.**

Susie glanced around the interior of the storage unit; noting the grey cinderblock walls, blue painted roll-up door, single dim overhead plasma tube, and ceiling-mount HVAC unit. **"Where are we?"** she asked tiredly.

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"**Inside unit 33 of Seattle's Best Storage over on 12****th**** Avenue,"** Cole replied.

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Susie shook her head, causing her to groan. **"The last thing I remember was passing the Lee Chee Garden on Elliot,"** she said.

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**"You collapsed a few blocks from there,"** Cole said. "**We put you in the limo and Zag rode your Messerschmitt."** The ork checked his timepiece and added, **"You've been out for at almost two hours."**

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Susie digested the information for a moment. **"Did we kill the Johnson?"** she asked through clenched teeth.

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Cole sighed and said, **"Maybe. We're not sure."**

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Susie nodded and said, "**Then we need to get Akiko fixed up as quickly as possible, and that means no lengthy hospital stays."** She turned back to Akiko, tears beginning to form in her bloodshot eyes. "**This is going to be difficult,"** Susie said. **"She has so much cyberware: it makes it hard to heal the body."**

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Cole sniffed loudly and rubbed his chin. **"Maybe we should just get her to a hospital or a street doc, then,"** he said.

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Susie shook her head and replied, **"Akiko knew a couple of street docs, once before. But I don't know about now."** The mage shrugged. **"I always heal myself,"** she said by way of explanation.

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Susie squared her shoulders and got on her knees next to Akiko, sitting back on her heels. Pulling off her gloves she took a deep breath and said, **"With injuries this bad, and so much of her vital essence consumed with machines, I'm liable to only get one shot at this. So I am going to throw in as much power as I can to make the best of the situation."** Susie took a deep breath and added,** "I'd better get on with it then."** She drew Briosaid, laid the magesword across her thighs, and started chanting in Irish Gaelic. While still balancing her sword across her thighs, Susie leaned over Akiko and placed one crimson-nailed hand on her abdomen, and the other over her heart.

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Cole had never witnessed magical healing on someone that was so close to death. On other shadowruns he never had a mage or shaman with the proper skills, and on the battlefield death came too quickly. Susie's breathing became long and deep. The ork sat up and scooted over next to the two women. Cole watched the autodoc readout, fascinated as the mage pumped mana through her friend's systems to catalyze the healing process. Slowly, over the course of half an hour, Akiko's vitals steadily improved, even as Susie's breathing became shallower and more ragged, interspersed with soft groans.

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Suddenly the mage gasped. Cole jumped a little, startled. Susie swayed, her hands loosing contact with Akiko. He reached out and steadied her. She made no attempt to continue her spell, slumping against Cole. Susie's body gave a hitching movement. **"Oh my God, I'm gonna puke,"** she said, her words almost unintelligible.

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Cole immediately jazzed his muscles and grabbed the limp mage around her waist. He yanked open the roll-up door and dropped to his knees, holding Susie somewhat upright on all fours. As she began heaving, Cole quickly gathered her long curly hair and pulled it back away from the multi-colored spew. He looked away as best he could while Susie emptied her stomach contents onto the pavement. Cole winced in sympathetic pain as she dry heaved several times.

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Once her paroxysm finished, Susie groaned and pulled herself upright onto her knees. **"Feel better?"** Cole asked as he released her hair.

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"**No,"** she replied,** "but there's nothing left to come up."** Susie coughed twice, wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand. She gave Cole a wan smile and said, **"Thanks for holding my hair."**

**.**

Cole shrugged and said, **"Sure. Null sheen."** He scoped around, glancing left and right through the light rain. Their storage unit faced another row of units. None of the security cameras were pointing down their aisle, all of them studiously facing away. Cole had a fleeting thought that the cameras reminded him of someone politely turning their back as something embarrassing was happening. Wiping rain off his face he said, **"Let's not take any chances on being seen."** Susie nodded weakly and followed him back into the unit.

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Cole and Susie settled back down onto the floor, their backs to the cinderblock wall. Susie rooted through her jacket pocket and pulled out a package of mints, popping one in her mouth and offering to Cole. Suddenly, Akiko groaned and her chrome eyes fluttered open. Susie gave a small gasp of pleasure and grabbed her friend's hand. **"Welcome back, stranger,"** she said.

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Cole and Susie helped Akiko sit up. The Asian woman groaned again and drew up her knees. Crossing her arms over her knees, she dropped her head onto them. **"I feel wretched,"** Akiko said quietly.

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Cole unhooked the autodoc cable from Akiko's chipjack. The ork snorted and said, **"You should. You were hit pretty hard by that wagemage."**

**.**

Susie rubbed Akiko's shoulders and said, **"After I have a chance to rest some more, I'll cast more healing magic for you."**

**.**

Akiko allowed Susie to continue as she asked, **"What happened after I ran back with the Medkit?"**

**.**

Cole related the final minutes of the fight with the Johnson's forces, their team's retreat back into the city, and what the twins and Kill Switch were doing. After telling the tale he checked his timepiece again, hoping nothing sinister was delaying the other team members.

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Into the silence Neon spoke. Her voice sounding very hollow and far away she said, **"I can see the roadster and bikes approaching."**

**.**

Cole achily stood and opened the rollup door. Everyone inside the storage unit heard the high-performance whine of the Messerschmitt just before it appeared in the doorway. Zag eased the bike into the unit, his long coat dribbling dirty rain onto the floor. As he parked the bike, Kill Switch and Zig followed, each easing their vehicles to a stop. Now that everyone was together, Neon jacked out from the Matrix.

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Zag unstrapped their new deluxe Medkit from the back of the Arktis and handed it to Cole. He saw Akiko sitting up and said, **"Its good you're up: we should probably vacate this location shortly."**

**.**

That set off a babble from Cole, Susie and Neon. Kill Switch spoke loudly over the noise from the crew, **"Look everybody: I discovered that the briefcase with our payment had a GPS-tracker installed."** The dwarf grinned and added,** "We probably don't have to worry about that so much for awhile: I removed it and stuck it to a stray dog."** He chuckled and said,** "But we still need to keep moving until we can be sure the Johnson is dead or is going to leave us alone."**

**.**

Cole grimaced. Crestfallen, he said, **"I'm sorry, guys. I never thought it might be bugged."**

**.**

In a tired voice Kill Switch said, **"Yeah, well it's a little worse than that."** His voice growing angrier he said,** "Every credstick and datachip in the briefcase also has a screamer installed."** The dwarf turned slightly, looking at their faces as they assimilated the horrible truth. If they tried to access either the credsticks or the datachips, the malicious little screamer program would erase the nuyen and render the information scrambled or useless. Screamers also broadcast their location to whoever installed them.

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"**Can you deactivate the screamers?"** Cole quietly asked the dwarf.

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Kill Switch absently scratched his beard, thinking. After a moment he said, **"No...yeah...maybe. But I'll need to work on them for a bit. Preferably without distractions."** He motioned to Neon and added, **"And preferably with her help." **Neon nodded in agreement.

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Zag popped the trunk of the roadster and said, **"Look, we should get a move on. I'm certain the docks had surveillance cameras and the footage is being inspected right now."**

**.**

Murmuring in agreement, the team divested themselves of extraneous gear, loading it into the roaster's backseat and trunk. Talking as they unloaded, they decided to ride the monorail train for a while to keep on the move and try to shake any possible pursuers. Cole reluctantly removed his armor and helmet to add to his machine gun, the twins' assault rifles, Susie's Ingram, and Akiko's Model 100. None were suitable for city roaming.

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Cole plucked his black slouch hat out of the roadster trunk, trying to straighten out the rather crumpled brim. He slung the Medkit under his red-brown fatigue coat and pulled the marginally straighter brim of his hat down. Everyone else readied to go out into the rain, flipping up collars, putting on hats, and in Susie's case raising a hood. After they exited the storage unit, Kill Switch pausing to latch a huge Unobtanium-brand lock on the bolt. With nothing else to delay them, the team walked out into the rainy Seattle night, west along Denny Way.

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To their right, the large, angular, glowing bulk of the Aztechnology pyramid dominated the sky. The Mayan heroes cavorted across the quartz sides as the team trudged through the rain. They caught short glimpses of the well-lit pyramid, seeing Christmas shoppers entering and exiting at the street level. Here near a corporate enclave, crime was minimal, not that anything short of a thrill-kill gang would have thought to molest them.

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As they were about to cross Broadway, it became clear that not everything was perfect in Aztechnology's backyard. Lone Star was holding back what looked like more than a hundred protesters in the remnants of Cal Anderson Park. The protestors were waving signs reading "_**No More Blood for Power**_" and "_**Stop All Blood Magic**_" and _**"No Blood for the Aztec Gods".**_ One inflammatory sign had an Aztec mage-priest inside a set of crosshairs with the caption: _**"Collect Dunkelzahn's Bounty on Blood Mages"**_. Cole saw several butterscotch-orange uniforms mixed in with the gold and blue Lone Star cops: Aztechnology had sent some of their own security to help with the protesters.

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They turned south on Belleview. Three blocks ahead of them, a Seattle Monorail boarding platform beckoned. They hurried as best they could through the rain, the lights from the city glistening off the wet streets. Lots of people were out despite the precipitation and late hour. Every third person seemed to have one of the trendy light tube umbrellas, adding more color to the reflections.

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Abruptly Susie stopped. **"I need to hit the Stuffer Shack across the street," **she said.

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"**Eish, what the hell for?"** Kill Switch asked exasperatedly.

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Susie rolled her tongue around her mouth and inside her lips. **"I need to get this taste out of my mouth,"** she replied.

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Kill Switch smirked, waggled his eyebrows and asked, **"Exactly what **_**kind**_** of taste: fishy or salty?"**

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Susie gave the dwarf a withering look, sighed and said, **"The puke taste. Wanna give me a big lickery kiss and see for yourself?"** She exaggeratedly puckered up her lips and made smacking noises as Kill Switch shook his head vehemently. Glancing around at everyone Susie asked **"Anybody else need something quick?"**

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For a brief instant, Cole considered asking her to pick him up a pack of smokes. He had quit smoking years before, and now only craved them when really intoxicated, or really stressed. Cole looked around, giving everyone else a chance to speak up. With no other requests forthcoming, Cole quashed his own desire and said, **"No thanks. We'll just wait for you up at the platform."** Susie nodded. She quickly linked arms with Akiko and they both dashed across the street, dodging the traffic. The rest of the team tiredly continued to the monorail platform.

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Neon slotted a credstick at the token kiosk, buying tokens for all of them. One-by-one they dropped the tokens into the hopper and passed through the blue-and-white-painted turnstile. There were a few people waiting for the train: a pair of shoppers that were clearly a couple, two women that most likely were nurses judging by their scrubs, and a slightly inebriated troll nursing a large beer in a tan plastic bag. The troll leered at Neon but Cole judged him no real threat. He kept an eye on Belleview Avenue below, watching and waiting for Susie and Akiko to reappear from the Stuffer Shack. In less than ten minutes the two women walked out of the Stuffer Shack, each holding a bag, the mage drinking some lime green liquid from a plastic bottle. They quickly crossed the intervening distance and climbed the platform stairs. Neon tossed them two tokens through the turnstile, Akiko snatching both out of the air.

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They had arrived just in time: the red and grey train was just pulling in next to the platform. The nearly silent magnetic propulsion system gave only the faintest of groans as the train came to a full stop. The twins instinctively allowed the other patrons to board first and then chose the rearmost car. Except for a single elf, they had the car to themselves. The elf passenger looked at them apprehensively as they boarded, and then quickly moved forward to the next car.

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Faded anti-drug and pregnancy-assistance posters dotted the walls of the train car, interspersed with flickering LED advertisements. Susie and Akiko opened up their bags and offered assorted flavors of PowerYields energy drinks and various soy energy bars. Absently taking a day-glo chartreuse PowerYields, Cole leaned back into the cheap plastic seat at the rear of the car. His eyes barely flickered as he watched the city roll past the mostly bulletproof windows.

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The train gathered speed crossing Belmont Avenue. Cole stared out the window, thinking the neighborhood looked familiar. With a jolt, Cole experienced deja vu. _"Holy shite...Gracie's For Ribs is right underneath us,"_ he thought. He remembered his meal, and the meeting with the Johnson later at the Wooden Shoe, his friend Adam...and Trisha. How things had changed in six short days.

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Cole thought over the second part of his payment. Not so much the money, but the information and research on a goblinization cure. He did feel a pang of guilt that the money he promised Trisha for her father was now beyond him. But a deeper feeling of regret, of borderline despair, rose within him over the possible loss of the research. Even if he somehow helped Adam survive whatever his ailment was, his comrade would still not have many years left, and would die sooner than he should. The train looped through the Seattle University campus where it picked up a few diehard students, despite the fact that Christmas break started last weekend. The students boarding the train broke Cole's melancholy introspection.

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After satisfying their momentary sustenance needs, Neon spoke up. Trying not to be overheard by the students she quietly asked, **"So where are we going to hide out?"**

**.**

The all looked at each other blankly. **"We could grab a suite at the Hotel Nikko,"** Zig said.

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He and Zag shared a quick glance. **"We've stayed there before,"** Zag added.** "It's right on the monorail line."**

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"**It's also two blocks from Lone Star Central,"** Kill Switch snapped. The dwarf gave a disgusted sound and said,** "No thanks, chummer."**

**.**

"**Not to mention it puts us on the public radar, and in front of a great many cameras,"** Akiko added in a tired voice.

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Everyone was silent after that. They all sat thinking as the monorail looped at the International District and changed course north. The train slowed as it approached the vast silvery-green Renraku Arcology. The three students in their car readied themselves to disembark. They stepped off the train into the arcology without a single backward glance, scurrying away like the good little sararimen they would one day become. The train pulled away from the platform and slowly traversed the width of the arcology. Even at this late hour, they saw people moving around the lowest atrium levels.

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They pulled out of the arcology back into the Downtown District. As they passed the incongruous expanse of McKuen's Scrap Yard, Neon spoke up again. **"Susie, maybe we could call your fixer for some help,"** she said.

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Susie pulled herself upright from her dozing. **"No, not this time,"** she said.** "I don't think he would appreciate me leaning on him again. He's already helped enough this run."**

**.**

"**Well we need to decide something soon: we'll be pulling into Seattle Central Station in just a few minutes, "** Zig said.

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The monorail hooked around onto Fifth Avenue, pulling through the former Westlake Terminus. As they waited inside the artfully decorated glass and stainless steel building, something caught Cole's eye: Lordstrom's Department Store. With a start, Cole sat up and said, **"I have an idea."** Once he had everyone's attention he said, **"I know someone that might give us shelter...down in the Underground."**

**.**

Kill Switch grunted and said, **"It might be safer for me to just stay topside rather than hide in Orktown. There's still plenty of bad blood between my kind and yours."**

**.**

Nearly two centuries ago, most of central Seattle burned to the ground. The city fathers of the time decided to rebuild the city on top of the corpse of the old. Much of the below ground old city was completely destroyed, either by the initial fire or the construction of the new Seattle.

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After the Night of Rage and the Metahuman Riots of the '20's and 30's, a good number of the metahumans tried to retreat from society. Many of the elves ran for the wilderness and rebuilt their power bases, resurrecting their nations of old. In Seattle, many dwarves, orks and trolls had gone underground to inhabit the old city. Over the next few years, the dwarves and orks (mostly the dwarves) had expanded the tunnels, creating a true city beneath Seattle.

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Relations between the dwarves and orks (and trolls to a lesser extent) had soured, with the trolls and orks expelling the dwarves from most of the underground city. Now it was a haven for orks and trolls of all stripes, a place they could live in relative peace without much interference from the full humans. Cole was reasonably certain that his contact in Orktown, Granny Maria, would let them lie low for a while.

"**You'll be with me. It'll be fine,"** Cole said to the dwarf.

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The monorail was just looping around the Space Needle at Seattle Center. The oddly shaped amorphous lump of the EMP Museum pearlescently reflected the lights of the Center. The extra displays, barriers, and facades for Winterfest were set up on the grounds. For now, the ice skating rink sat empty. But by tomorrow, tourists and natives alike would throng this area to attend the Winter Solstice Festival. Passing the glowing lavender and turquoise towers of the Pacific Science Center, the train finally pulled into the station.

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The train promptly emptied completely as the station was the actual terminus for the line. Doing their best to show only their backs to the security cameras, they stood in the harsh white light of the platform. **"Okay, " **Cole said. **"the section of the Underground where my contact lives is across town from here."**

**.**

"**How far is it?"** Kill Switch asked.

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"**Up on 24****th**** in Capitol Hill."** The ork rubbed the stubble on his chin and added, **"Unfortunately we can only take the train for part of the trip. After that its either the bus or leg it."**

**.**

"**That sounds great, Cole,"** Susie said as Akiko leaned heavily against her.** "But she really needs to sit back down,"** Susie said. **"Actually,"** the mage added slipping her arm around Akiko, **"I think I should probably heal her some more, and soon, before we leg it anywhere."**

**.**

Akiko softly groaned against Susie's shoulder and said, **"Yes, that would be most kind."**

**.**

Kill Switch gave the monorail a speculative look and asked, **"Can you heal her while we're moving?"**

**.**

Susie cocked her head to the side in thought. After a moment she said, **"Sure. But I'll need some time to do it."**

**.**

"**Null sheen. Let's just ride the train around until she's ready to go,"** Kill Switch said. He looked around at the team, and seeing no objections, winked at them and stumped off to buy passes.

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In less than ten minutes he returned, grumbling. **"Damned machine only had prorated monthly passes,"** he said. The dwarf handed out the plastic chits with a _hmph_ saying, **"Well we're paid up until New Year's, I guess."**

**.**

They boarded the next departing monorail. They rode through the nighttime city until Susie had used her magic to heal Akiko enough that the Japanese woman was more capable of travel. Eventually they disembarked from the monorail precisely where they had first boarded: the platform on Belleview. Using the kiosk on the platform Cole figured out that a Seattle Transit bus could take them most of the way to his ingress to Orktown. They were able to board the #43 bus three blocks to the east. It was nearly the final bus of the night. The bus was quite old and in poor condition. It reeked of petro-exhaust, stale food and cheap beer, with just a faint undercurrent of urine. Much to everyone's delight, not a single traveler boarded the bus during the ride.

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Cole pressed the 'stop request' button. As the ancient bus slowed down to the next stop he nudged Susie. The mage had fallen asleep leaning against him, Akiko falling asleep against her. He couldn't blame either of them.

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Susie twitched with his nudge, opening her two-color eyes. She moaned and said, **"I swear: once this 'run is over I'm going to sleep for a week."** Susie lightly shook Akiko to wake her.

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The Asian woman opened her chrome eyes, flicking her glance left and right. **"We are here, I assume?" **she said.

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The team spilled out of the bus just past the odd dogleg juncture of 23rd and 24th Avenues. Most of the Capitol Hill neighborhood was pretty sedate, although this precise spot was one of the seedier sections. Cole led them down Helen Street to a short strip mall. All of the shops were dark, and all but one (the low-rent lawyer) appeared abandoned. Unerringly, Cole walked around to the back of the farthest shop: a small defunct delicatessen. The back door of the deli was missing. Predator drawn, Cole cautiously checked the entrance. He gave the team an 'all clear' and they entered the shop.

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Inside, the decor could best be described as 'Post-Modern Dysfunctional Teenager': lots of plastic beer bottles, graffiti, and condom wrappers. A miasma of stale booze, urine, vomit, and pot almost clouded the air. Spray-painted slogans adorned the walls in all the colors of the rainbow informing everyone that '_Janie swallows_', and _'Troll-Killers suck dicks'_, and _'Darius, our Brother 2041-2055 RIP'_.

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Cole carefully led them through the accumulated adolescent detritus to the deep freezer. The ork cautiously peeped inside the remains of the large industrial freezer. Satisfied it was empty, Cole holstered his pistol and waved them inside. The ork busied himself removing a set of shelves from the scarred stainless steel wall. Grunting in consternation Cole removed the shelving unit, exposing a ductwork vent. He knelt, removed the vent cover, and reached inside. After feeling around inside the vent, a heavy yet muffled clank sounded. Cole returned the vent cover and cleared the small bit of accumulated garbage from in front of the wall where the shelves sat, stepped back, and drew his combat axe. Wedging the tip spike between two sections of the freezer wall, the ork pried on the axe.

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Abruptly a section of the wall swung slightly outward. Cole said, **"Somebody gimme a hand here." **Both twins helped Cole pull the wall section to the side, revealing a landing and a stairwell descending into the dark. The wall section was very thick, almost like a bank vault door. The ork flashed them a tired grin and motioned to the stairs. **"Shall we?"** he asked. Single file they entered the door to the Underworld.

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Cole felt around along the wall, cursing under his breath. **"Sorry, guys. No lights," **he said. **"Does everybody have some low-light or thermo-vision?"** Cole asked. He knew Susie didn't have any cyberware or natural enhanced vision like he and Kill Switch. **"Howzabout you, Susie?"** he asked,** "Can you see?"**

**.**

Kill Switch snickered and said, **"Need someone to hold your hand in the dark, little girl?"**

**.**

Susie did not deign to answer the dwarf. She merely pulled out her pair of blue-lensed smart-glasses and put them on, flicking a switch on the side. **"I can see just fine,"** she replied to Cole.

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"**My eyes don't have thermographic or low light,"** Neon said quietly.

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Susie held out her hand to the Vietnamese woman and said, **"Then **_**you**_** can hold **_**my**_** hand, sweetie." **Neon smiled and took Susie's hand. Cole and the twins grabbed the large handle on the inside of the door and pulled it shut tightly, leaving them in total darkness.

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Pushing from the back Cole said, **"Let's go, people. We're not getting any younger."**

**.**

No one seemed willing to take the first step down the stairs. Kill Switch nervously cleared his throat and said, **"Seein' as how these are your people, it'd probably be better if they saw you first, chummer."**

**.**

"_My people," _Cole thought. He took a deep breath and sighed heavily, pleasantly surprised at the sudden freshness of the air. Even though they were underground (or nearly so) the odor of the wrecked deli did not penetrate the heavy vault-like door. Cole squeezed through to the front and descended the stairs, his teammates just behind.

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The stairs pitched down at a very steep angle, forcing them to make good use of the makeshift railing. Despite his lingering injuries and near exhaustion, Cole was still able to descend the stairs in relative silence. Not so much his comrades, except the twins. Cole didn't know whether it was due to ineptitude, fatigue, or lack of caring. Whatever the reason, they sounded like a heard of elephants on the move. **"**_We sure won't surprise anyone making this racket,"_ Cole thought. _"Although that might not be such a bad thing..."_ Very infrequent LED bulbs broke the oppressive darkness of the tunnel. The irregular puddles of light only enhanced the long darkness between. The air in the tunnel was surprising fresh given that it was underground. Pausing once to let Akiko rest a moment, they noticed a very slight breeze drifting from ahead.

.

After walking for the better part of an hour, just after passing a curve in the tunnel, bright lights burst out of the darkness, blinding them. A voice boomed out of the abrupt brightness, **"Dat's far enough, chummers! Hands where we ken see 'em!"**

**.**

Most of the team had built-in flare compensation for their eyeware. Cole, relying on his natural abilities, was not so lucky. He closed his eyes and raised his hands saying, **"Okay, okay, relax. We're here to see Granny."**

**. **

"**Izzat a fact?"** the voice taunted. Cole squinted against the glare, green and orange after images partially obscuring his vision. A metal gate stretched across the tunnel. On the team's side of the gate stood two orks and a troll, with various large and deadly firearms pointed at them.

.

"**Yeah, Granny is a friend of mine,"** Cole replied. He started to fish inside his shirt for his dog tag chain. Cole saw the orks and troll tense as he carefully plucked the dog tags out from under his shirt. A small copper coin, hanging from a white string, dangled off the beaded dog tag chain.

.

At the sight of the coin, the guards murmured. Abruptly the lights dimmed to normal daylight levels. Kill Switch hissed in warning: the troll was covering them with a double-barreled Krupp MG-88 heavy machinegun. At over 1600 rounds per minute, nothing short of a minigun or a rocket launcher could be more deadly in such close quarters. The troll dwarfed the big tripod-mounted machinegun and shield. Both orks and the troll wore various articles of brown and grey, marking them as members of Skraacha, the quasi police of the various Orktown 'neighborhoods'. Flash goggles covered their eyes to prevent them being blinded by their own light. The ork in charge lowered his Norinco assault rifle and waved for Cole to approach.

.

As Cole crossed to the ork leader, he flicked his team a _'stay put'_ sign, hoping they understood it. He was hoping neither Kill Switch nor Susie did anything rash. Cole stopped at arms length from the other ork, holding out the coin on his dog tags for inspection.

.

The ork flipped up the goggles and grasped the coin, peering close as he turned it in his fingers. After the inspection of the coin he flicked a dog tag over. **"Grayson-Colleton-Beam, Cole-James, 3-7-8-7-0-1-7, A-positive, Anglican,"** the ork read off the dog tags. **"That's a lotta names,"** he said.

.

Cole took a deep breath and said, **"Granny knows me as 'The Captain', or just Cole."**

**.**

"'_**The Captain'**_**, huh,"** the ork said. A large grin broke out over his face as he formally said, **"Welcome home, our brother. You ken rest easy wit your kin."** The ork's smile disappeared as he flicked a glanced over Cole's shoulder at the rest of the team.

.

Cole nodded and tucked away his dog tags. Motioning to his team, Cole said, **"These others are my comrades. They must come with me."** The ork leader looked around Cole at the team, stroking his unshaven chin in thought. The other ork chuckled and made some comment to the troll no one else could hear, causing the troll to expose his crenellated fangs in a wide grin.

.

Seeing the reticence of the guards, Cole quickly added, **"I'll vouch for them. They'll cause no trouble here, you have my word."** The ork leader snorted. **"Granny has always accepted my word," **Cole added.

.

The ork leader continued to mull over Cole's request. The other ork spoke up and said, **"I can run an' get Elam to settle this ifya' want."** Cole quailed on the inside. The absolute _last_ thing they needed was Granny's grandson Elam involved with this situation: he hated Cole with a passion.

.

The ork leader shook his head and said, **"No ya' can't. Elam's topside until tonight."** He checked his timepiece said, **"And I ain't sending one of you to bring Granny herself up here this late,"** he shrugged and added,** "or early, or whatever."**

**. **

"**I promise: none of my friends will cause any trouble,"** Cole said again. He stood outwardly impassive as the ork thought some more.

.

The troll loudly cleared his throat and asked, **"Sooo...you gonna let 'em through, Roger, or should we ventilate these smoothies?"** The blasé comment drew a small gasp from Neon. Cole almost groaned. He suspected with that comment his team was about to dive for weapons, or maybe Susie was going to set the whole tunnel on fire. Either way, this was about to get out of control.

.

Clearing his throat Cole said, **"Look, just let me talk to Granny and you'll see she knows me."**

**.**

The ork leader finally nodded and said, **"Yeah, okay."** He nodded to the troll and added,** "We'll let 'em through**. **They cause any kinda problem and Elam or Granny can sort it out later."** He leaned close to Cole's face and said quietly **"Better keep the halfer on a tight leash, brother. Nobody likes his kind here."**

**.**

Cole nodded. Roger twitched his hand at the troll. The troll promptly swung his Krupp down at the floor and engaged the safety. Roger and the other ork stepped aside from the gate and motioned the team through. The second ork flickered his tongue between his teeth at the women as they passed, causing Neon to look away in embarrassment, and Susie to shake her head sadly. The ork's tongue twisted and curled like some fat, pink worm.

.

Roger noticed his companion's behavior, his face contorting into a scowl. **"Enough of that shite, Lenny,"** Roger snapped. Lenny immediately sucked in his tongue and closed his mouth. Roger's scowl twisted into a wry grin as he continued, **"**_**But**_**, since you seem to like these folks so much, why'nt **_**you**_ **escort 'em down to Granny's."** Lenny's shoulders and face slumped in chagrin. The troll abruptly gave a belly laugh at Lenny's predicament. Crestfallen, Lenny slung his combat shotgun and half-heartedly waved for Cole and the rest of the team to follow him.

.

Lenny reluctantly led them onward. In a very short distance beyond the gate, the tunnel widened out to the size of a street and then into a 'cave' the size of several city blocks. The ceiling of the chamber rose higher than Susie's converted warehouse. More regular lighting appeared in the form of actual electric streetlights set along the walls and into the ceiling. The lights appeared to be cannibalized highway road lights, giving off the odd 'sunlight' style of amber lighting although only giving off enough light to simulate Seattle's normal nighttime glow.

.

They followed Lenny the ork, although Cole knew the way well. Granny's place was a three-level building of newer Underground construction. Cole recognized the dwarven handiwork and influences in the stone building. He wondered if Kill Switch could tell. The upper two levels were living areas devoted to Granny's extensive and convoluted family. Most that lived here couldn't truly claim any relation to her. Despite the lack of blood or marriage Granny considered them as family nonetheless.

.

The 'street' level was a family restaurant of sorts: La Tuna Rojizo, the Scarlet Prickly Pear although most denizens of this part of Orktown simply called it 'La Tuna' or 'The Pear'. Lenny and Cole led the team around behind the building, past the darkened windows of the closed restaurant. Cole caught a quick whiff of the spicy New Tex-Mex that La Tuna Rojizo served, overlaid by the rancid, meaty stench of the grease trap.

.

Cole could see a dim light glimmering inside the kitchen, proving someone was awake. Lenny rapped firmly on the door with his fist. He could hear a snatch of muffled conversation from behind the door. The door opened a crack, revealing a young ork girl, probably the human equivalent of a twelve-year old, wearing pajamas and slippers, her dark hair twisted into braids. Lenny gave her a pleasant smile and squatted down to her level.

.

They carried on a quick, whispered conversation in Or'zet, the ancient orkish language. Cole stood impassively, unable to follow more than a smattering of the conversation. At times he was ashamed to admit it, but his command of the language was poor at best. Not having been born into ork culture, he had not learned any Or'zet until his time in the Confederate Rangers. Even though he could not understand most of the conversation it was obvious Lenny was trying to convince the girl to let then inside.

.

Suddenly a much older female voice cut off the girl and Lenny, saying (in English), **"Let them in, Katy."**

**.**

The girl stepped aside and held the door open, letting out the feeble light from inside the restaurant's kitchen. Lenny stood and motioned them through. Cole took a quick breath and walked inside the kitchen, his friends following.

.

An elderly female ork, clothed in a long flannel nightgown, sat at a large prep table. On the table sat a partially filled glass of what appeared to be milk, and an empty plate. She held a large mug in her hands. Upon seeing Cole, her wizened face broke out into a large smile. She put down her mug, held out her arms to Cole and said, **"Come give Granny a hug, young man."** Her voice was strong despite her age; her words were laced with an Hispanic trill. Cole smiled in return and embraced her. Granny patted him on the back as she whispered, **"It's been too long, **_**mi nino**_**."**

**.**

Cole released Granny and stood back up, noticing the faint glimmer of tears in her eyes. She nodded to Lenny. He nodded to her and backed out of the kitchen, closing the door behind him. Granny gazed fondly at Cole for a moment more and then flicked her eyes at the rest of the team. **"Who are your friends?"** she asked.

.

Cole made quick introductions, Granny nodding to each one. Her eyes hardened a bit at the mention of Susie and Akiko's names. The flash was so quick Cole wasn't certain he had seen it. After introducing them to the her, Cole said, **"Granny, I know it's a lot to ask, but I'm afraid I need to ask for your hospitality."**

**.**

She did not respond immediately, simply stared at him, her face unreadable. Taken aback, Cole quickly said, **"It would just be for a couple of days, maybe a week at the most..."**

**.**

Granny _tsked_ and said, **"Of course, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? You all look exhausted, so let's get you to bed."** Everyone slumped in relief at her words. Granny clapped her hands and said, **"Katy: take these folks up to the third floor and get them bedded down."**

**.**

The girl snatched the glass of milk and finished it. Placing the empty glass in one of the large sinks, Katy said, **"C'mon with me...and be quiet on the stairs. Everybody's sleepin'."** The team filed out behind the ork girl.

.

Cole lingered, wanting to speak to Granny alone. He didn't like the vibe he was getting from her. She gave him a small smile and said, **"You too, **_**mi nino**_**. You look dead on your feet."** He opened his mouth to speak but Granny cut him off saying, "**We've got a lot to talk about, but it can wait until morning. Get some sleep."** Cole tiredly nodded, his fatigue suddenly rushing in on him. He tiredly smiled at Granny. She turned up her cheek to him.

.

Cole kissed her on the cheek and said **"Thanks, Maria. I'll see you in the morning."**

165


	15. Chapter 13: Underground Home

Another chapter for all of you to hopefully enjoy. Thanks again to all of you that continue to read. Feel free to drop me a PM or leave a review if you have suggestions, or constructive criticisms.

Chapter 13: Underground Home

Cole awoke with a start. Disoriented, for a moment he didn't remember where he was. The details of last night came to him in a rush, along with the lingering pain from his gunshot wounds. Groaning quietly, Cole carefully heaved himself upright in the narrow bunk. In the bunk above him, Kill Switch softly snored and murmured in his sleep. Across the tiny room, the twins still slept in their own bunks. Cole checked his timepiece: he slept nearly six hours. Grabbing his gunbelt, light weapons, and boots, the ork quietly eased out of the room.

Cole sat at the top of the stairs and put on his boots and other equipment, the top stair creaking under his weight. Their room was just off the stairs in a long hallway that contained a large communal bathroom and several other barracks-style rooms. Glancing across the hall, he noticed the closed door to Akiko, Neon, and Susie's borrowed room.

Before Cole finished tying his boots, the door cracked open to reveal Neon's worried face peeking out at him. She blew out her breath in relief and opened the door. **"I'm glad it was someone I knew,"** she said.

"**Are Susie and Akiko still sleeping?"** Cole asked.

Neon shook her head saying, **"They were gone when I woke up a little while ago."** Shrugging she added, **"I guess they're already downstairs."**

Cole grunted as he stood, hoping the pair of women didn't cause any ruckus with Granny Maria's people. Twitching his head to Neon in a '_let's go'_ gesture he said, **"Let's get some breakfast."**

By the time they reached the second floor, they could hear Latin music drifting up from the ground floor, coupled with what sounded like numerous children. As they turned at the last landing, the noise and music quieted down. Some of Maria's extended family was sitting down at a long table, almost all of them children. Right at the end of the table sat Akiko and Susie.

At the head of the table, Maria gave Cole a slight smile and said, **"I'm glad you didn't sleep the whole day away, **_**mi nino**_**."** Gesturing with her hand to the end of the table she added, **"Come sit with your friends."** Cole and Neon sat down at the end of the table, one on each side of Akiko and Susie.

Abruptly the table grew completely silent as Maria folded her hands and bowed her head in prayer. Cole and his companions did likewise, albeit a bit belatedly. Granny and her family made the sign of the cross as did Neon (no revelation there considering her Vietnamese heritage). But to Cole's complete surprise, so did Susie. Maria quickly gave a prayer of thanksgiving, completely in her native Spanish. At the end she switched back to English saying, **"And thank-you, Lord, for the safe return of our own Cole...and his friends. Amen."**

As bowls of food began their hand-to-hand trek around the table, Cole leaned over to Susie and quietly said, **"I didn't know you were Catholic."**

The mage turned to him and replied, **"Uh...I'm not, really. My grandmother was Catholic, and she raised me that way."** Susie sighed and added, **"Or at least until she died. After that, not so much except for school."**

Snagging a few homemade tortillas, Cole thought on that as he passed along the covered platter. Suddenly putting two-and-two together he blurted out, **"So is that why Piru looks like she does, wearing that uniform?"** Akiko raised her chrome stare and gazed at him impassively as the temperature at their end of the table suddenly seemed to drop twenty degrees. Realizing he might have crossed some sort of unknown line Cole stammered, **"Uh...I mean...you know because, um, she **_**looks**_** like you and all..." **

Narrowing her two-color eyes, Susie said, **"That probably has something to do with it."**

Recognizing a hint to drop the subject, Cole simply nodded and kept silent as Susie passed the tortilla platter. An odd little smile on her face, Akiko raised one eyebrow at him, either in humor or tease; he couldn't tell from the silver eyes. He noticed that she looked better this morning. _"Susie must have healed her some more,"_ Cole fleetingly thought. Raising her other eyebrow, Akiko motioned with her chin as a bowl appeared at Cole's elbow.

Glad to let the conversation drop, Cole scooped out a healthy serving of huevos rancheros. He could tell by the odor that the eggs were mostly soy, but the chunky salsa seemed made of actual vegetables. After grabbing a dollop of soy/krill refritos and a mug of sweet creamy soykaf, Cole finally dug into breakfast.

As the family and friends ate, Cole allowed his attention to drift within the pleasant atmosphere. As it always was inside The Pear, he found his attention focused on the walls. Countless drawings adorned the painted walls, many clearly made by children. Legend said that initially, Maria's oldest son had taken some markers as a small child and colored a picture on the wall. The picture showed several smiling orks, trolls, and even a dwarf, all in sombreros dancing around a campfire under a crescent moon. Next to the cavorting metahumans were several red prickly-pear cacti, the namesake of the restaurant.

Rather than punish him or repaint the spot, Maria instead clear-coated the drawing. Providing markers to the patrons, she encouraged them to add their own artwork. In the intervening years, the drawings grew to cover nearly every square inch of the walls. Dragons, thunderbirds, flowers, spaceships, dancers, racecars, princesses, and smiley faces cavorted across the restaurant in a multi-colored frenzy. Most were little better in quality than Maria's long-dead son, but a few showed real talent, and one was an early piece by the now-famous troll artist, Piotr Meraz.

They finished the meal quickly. Shortly the remainder of the staff would arrive to help The Pear serve lunch. As soon as everyone was finished, eight of the children sprang up and started clearing the table. One of the ork women helped Maria stand and promptly headed toward the kitchen with her. A second hefted up the only toddler and headed back upstairs. The last ork female stayed behind and directed the children in their duties. Unable to stand by idle and watch domestic work, Neon jumped in to help the children.

The last ork female grabbed Neon's arm and said, **"Honey, let the little'uns clean this up. It ain't your job." **

"**Oh, but I can't sit here while they work so hard,"** Neon said, concern on her face.** "They're just kids."**

Shaking her head the ork said, **"If'n you don't, they don't get paid."** Leaning in close she gave a toothy smile and said _sotto voce_, **"They gets paid wit sweets dis time-uh year." **The female winked and added in a slightly louder voice, **"And they all know Santy Clause is watchin'."** With a knowing smile on her face, Neon nodded and put down the dirty silverware she had already collected. She and the ork lady stood off to the side chatting as the group of children earned their candy.

Cole ambled over to the bar where Susie and Akiko now sat on stools, nursing the last of their soykaf. As he sat down Susie asked, **"So how are your wounds this morning?"**

"**I think I'll survive,"** he replied.

Raising her eyebrow again, Akiko said, **"You still appear to be in pain."**

"**It's okay if you need me to heal you up a little," **Susie said.

"**Null sheen,"** Cole said. Shrugging he added, **"There's a couple of street docs down here. Later I was gonna drop in on whichever one Maria recommends."**

Nodding and shrugging she said, **"So ka."**

One of the ork women came out of the kitchen and approached the bar. Glancing once at Akiko and Susie, the woman addressed Cole, **"Granny asked you to see her in the kitchen."** As all three shadowrunners dropped off their stools the ork female narrowed her eyes and said, **"Not you two, chicas. Jus' the Captain for now."**

Both of his team members flicked a glance at Cole: Susie's questioning, Akiko's unreadable. Cole gave a slight shrug and both women climbed back up on their stools. He gave the ork woman a gentlemanly _'after you'_ gesture. She shook her head and walked across the room, dragging out and assembling the stand-up screens that covered the stairs during business hours.

Feeling a bit wary, Cole entered the kitchen alone. Despite the fact that the restaurant opened for lunch in only two hours, Granny Maria was the kitchen's lone occupant. She did not look up as he entered, intent on her task. The elderly ork woman worked her rolling pin expertly, yet harshly. _"Ah, hell,"_ Cole thought, seeing Maria making piecrusts. Granny absolutely _**hated**_ baking of any sort despite her skill at it, and only took up the challenge when she was angry.

Cole silently waited as Maria rolled out her crust. Dropping the thin sheet of dough into a waiting pie pan, her gnarled fingers conformed the dough in the shape of the dish. Quickly sliding it across the prep table to Cole she said, **"Can you fill them up from that can, **_**mi nino**_**?"**

Restraining his sigh, Cole grabbed the open industrial-sized can of apple pie filling. Scooping out a large dollop of the goopy, glutinous mass, he saw a few slices of real apples mixed in with the pieces of soy-based apple replacement. Knowing that she would keep silently fuming, Cole passed the now filled pie back to her and said, **"Look, Maria, I'm sorry I barged in on you like this. We just didn't have anywhere else to go right now."**

Carefully placing the top crust on the pie, Granny's flour-dusted fingers expertly trimmed the excess with a small paring knife. She pushed another pie across the table for Cole to fill. Sighing in exasperation, he started spooning out the filling again. As she crimped the first pie together, Maria said, **"Do you think this is the way I wanted you to come back to your people? Half dead and on the run?"** She gestured to the dining room and added in a harsh whisper, **"And bringing...**_**those**_**...with you."**

Involuntarily, Cole's gaze followed Maria's gesture. Through the serving window he could see Susie and Akiko surrounded by the gaggle of now-laughing children. Susie must have cast some sort of spell as the fresh silverware was marching across the table to the waiting napkins. The children screeched in delight as the napkins wrapped around each set of utensils. With an oddly gentle, yet sad smile on her face, Susie gestured once again and the rolled up silverware packets began to stack themselves. Akiko sat next to her friend, a faint smile on her face. Remembering Piru's gleefully malicious comment that _**"Susie can't ever have kids..."**_ Cole felt a small bubble of pity surface for the female mage. Brushing it aside as irrelevant right now, he turned back to Maria, a question in his eyes.

Granny Maria's face hardened as she said, **"Don't let that little display out there fool you, **_**mi nino**_**. There is something not right about either of those two women."** She gave him an appraising look and added,** "Can't you feel it around them? Death follows them wherever they go."**

Cole considered what she said in the knowledge that Maria's instincts were rarely wrong. This 'run _had_ gone pretty far south, and up until now he blamed it on his own fluky luck. In self-recrimination he also blamed that in his own (and he assumed the rest of the team's) eagerness to get the second half of the payment, they had pretty much ignored standard protocols about dealing with employers that knew _you_ better than you knew _them_. _"Greed gets you every time,"_ Cole thought ruefully. But Maria's statement made him wonder about Susie and Akiko. Once upon a time, bad luck, omens, signs, and curses were simple superstition...but with magic returned in the Sixth World myth and superstition had a frightening tendency to become truth.

Watching the play of emotions and thoughts run across Cole's face, Maria reached out and gently grasped his wrist. **"I am sorry, **_**mi nino**_**. You scared me terribly, showing up at my back door like that,"** she said softly. **"And after the way you left last time..."**

Cole glanced up, not so surprised to see the faint shine of tears in Maria's eyes. He knew the love she bore him, that of mother to son, drove her to anger when she feared for his safety. Giving her a regretful smile, he covered her hand with his own and said, **"The last time I left is in the past, let's just leave it there, okay?"**

Maria waited a moment longer and then withdrew her hand to make another piecrust. Sighing she said, **"And now you must leave us again. There is too much interest in you and your friends' exploits."** She looked at him but Cole wouldn't meet her eyes. **"So was that you involved in the shootout on the docks in Queen Anne?"**

Snapping his head up, Cole looked at her in surprise. **"I haven't said anything about why we're here,"** he said.

Maria forcefully rolled out another crust and said, **"The Queen Anne shootout was all over the trideo this morning. They said two Knight Errant men were executed. Did you do that, **_**mi nino,**_**"** she gestured with her chin out to the dining area and added, **"or was that one of **_**those**_** two? That **_**muija encantadora**_** or her soulless friend?"**

Cole shook his head and said, "**No, not at all, no. They were killed by the other team...dead before we even left the scene."**

"**That's not what the trideo said,"** she said quietly.** "According to SWNet both men were severely wounded and unconscious, but not dead. When the Doc Wagon showed up they found the men were shot in the head at close range, right where they fell."** Sliding a final pie tin across the table to him Maria continued, **"Knight Errant has officially asked Lone Star to help with the investigation. The 'Star called the guards '**_**fallen officers**_**'."**

One of the Johnson's goons must have come back ashore and finished off the two unlucky guards._ "Ah...shit,"_ Cole thought, _"that really complicates things."_ After the riots earlier this year, following Dunkelzahn's death, Lone Star was pretty quick to jump into any situation to continue justifying its police contract with the city. **"I'm sorry, Maria. I had no idea it was that bad,"** Cole said as he passed the full pie back to her.

"**Cole, **_**mi nino**_**, the heat is on you and your friends,"** she said. Sighing sadly Maria continued,** "I am truly sorry...but you cannot stay here after today. While I trust my people, not everyone here in our community will keep quiet."**

Knowing the truth of her admission, Cole nodded and said, **"We'll leave tonight."**

Motioning out to the dining area once again she said, **"I want you to stay with those two women so long as they're here. I don't trust them." **Maria made the sign of the cross and kissed the small crucifix around her neck before crimping together the last apple pie.

-

Cole walked out of the street doc's clinic into the faux daylight of the Underground, Susie and Akiko in tow. Before leaving The Pear he revealed the bad news of their imminent departure to the rest of the team. The twins took it stoically, Kill Switch and Neon less so. Once Cole calmed them down, he and his two female shadows left.

The trio ambled back in the direction of The Pear, snaking through the moderate late-afternoon foot traffic. Although there were no motor vehicles, aside from the odd electric scooter, bicycles of all types competed with the pedestrians for the right-of-way. The surplus amber-glow lights affixed to the ceiling cast stark, black shadows against the twisting footpath streets. Cole's nose perked up as they walked, catching a familiar scent. Despite the hearty breakfast earlier, the scent started his stomach grumbling in hunger. Gathering in the mage and razorgirl with a jerk of his head Cole said, **"Let's grab some lunch, my treat."**

Cole led them to an open-air food stand, out of which wafted the thick cooking odors of heavily spiced meat and meat substitute. He quickly ordered three servings from the ork cook, holding out some cash nuyen.

The cook handed down foam-paper cones full of food. Looking pointedly at the cash he said, **"No way, Captain. Your money ain't no good here."**

Self-consciously, Cole passed each of the women a foam-paper cone and a pair of disposable chopsticks. He smiled up at the cook who winked back. Apparently some of the denizens around here still knew him by sight, and remembered his actions from his first extended visit. Refusing to answer the questions in Susie and Akiko's eyes, Cole dug into his own cone with gusto. Both women still stared, their gaze alternating between him and the food-filled cones. Pausing to smack his lips and add some Cauterizer hot sauce, Cole caught their look and said, **"What? It's just kjani."** Kjani was very nearly the official fast food of the ork Underground. Only requiring four ingredients: noodles, one vegetable, some sort of meat, and anything else except rocks, sticks, or mud. It was often best not to inspect the actual meat used too closely, but it was always hot, spicy, and filling. This particular stand made their version closer to an Asian/Indian style, and straight from the serving cones it was nearly fiery enough to blister paint.

Akiko and Susie tentatively ate theirs, Susie gasping once or twice. Halfway through his cone, Cole paused and cut loose with a belch of truly epic proportions, causing the cook's head to jerk up at the noise. A toothy smile split the cook's face as he said, **"Thanks, Captain!"** Cole nodded his response as the cook set out three bottles of Coke from the stand.

As Cole gave one each to Susie and Akiko, the Japanese woman quietly said to him, **"If you carefully take a look over your left shoulder, you shall see we are being followed."** The Japanese woman shrugged and added, **"Unless it is another admirer like your cook."**

Inhaling sharply, Cole casually turned to grab more hot sauce and scoped down the street. The tracker was a relatively inept male ork teenager, not much more than a boy. Obviously the teen had watched way too many _Death Ninja_ trideo programs, as he seemed to be basing his shadowing technique from one of them. Turning back to Susie and Akiko as if nothing was wrong, he quietly said, **"As we move up the street, keep talking to me like you don't have a care in the world."** Plunging into inane conversation, the trio walked away from the stand.

Before they had gone two blocks, they dropped their empty food cones into a trash receptacle. In dumping the trash, Akiko used the opportunity to check on their stalker. **"He is still following us," **she said.

"**Does he have any friends?"** Susie asked through her false smile.

"**Only if their technique is one-thousand percent better,"** Akiko replied.

Cole glanced around, pretending to be lost. With a fake laugh he motioned to a side alley. As they turned into the alley he whispered,** "Take him as he comes around the corner." **As Akiko and Cole partially concealed themselves in doorways, Susie stood out in the middle of the alley, opening her coat and posing with her hands on her hips.

Within seconds, a skinny, teenaged male ork careened around the corner of the alley. He skidded to a stop as he saw Susie standing in front of him, his mouth dropping open in surprise. The mage gave him a brilliant smile beneath her bedroom eyes and said in a sultry voice, **"Well **_**hello**_**, sailor."**

In that instant, Akiko and Cole exploded out from their concealment. The poor ork youth tried to avoid them, but to no avail. Akiko's wired reflexes allowed her to hit him first, body-checking the younger ork right into Cole's arms. Cole grabbed the youth by the front of his shirt, using his augmented muscles to shake the teenager violently and slam him into the wall of the building, explosively knocking the wind out of him. Holding a forearm across the captive's chest, Cole roughly searched him for weapons, eventually dropping a long, broad-bladed knife onto the pavement. The youth weakly tried to struggle against Cole's vastly superior strength, causing the older ork to slam him against the wall again, and forcing a small yelp of pain past the youth's mouth.

As he pinned the captive to the wall, Cole clamped a hand across the teenager's mouth and said, **"Damnit, boy! If you don't stop struggling I'm gonna start breaking bones. All we want to do is talk."** Visibly slumping, the youth stopped his resistance. Cole nodded at the change and added, **"Now no screaming. If you try and attract too much attention, I'm going to punch you in the throat, drag you to a quiet little room...and give you to the two ladies."**

The young ork stared over Cole's shoulder at Akiko and Susie. Susie moved next to Akiko and slid an arm around her friend's neck. Easing down her dark shades, Akiko produced her finger razors for him, making sure he saw the missing pinkie. Susie shook out her monofilament whip and extended the lash, her brilliant smile and bedroom eyes still adorning her face. Eyes widening with fear, the young ork nodded as best he could with Cole's hand clamped over the lower part of his face.

Cole released the youth's mouth. **"Holy shite, gramps,"** he gasped, **"it feels like ya' already broke alla my damn ribs!"**

"**That's just a taste, junior,"** Cole _tsked._ **"Now be nice and answer a few questions and you'll get out of this just fine. For starters: what's your name?"**

Sounding sullen, the youth said, **"Terrence...but everyone calls me Skid."**

"**All right, Skid,"** Cole said,** "we're good so far. Next question: why were you following us?"**

"**A guy paid me a hunnert nuyen to give yer Curly-Top chica a message,"** Skid said.

"**What man? Was he an elf?"** Cole growled.

Shaking his head Skid replied, **"Nah, he was a smoothie...uh, I mean just a man. Another old guy, like you."**

"**If all you had to do was deliver a message, what's with the cloak and dagger routine?"** Cole asked.

Skid shrugged as best he could while still being held against the wall. **"I wuz just practicin' my skills,"** he said sheepishly.

Susie snorted in humor as Akiko said, **"You certainly need a great deal more practice."**

Disengaging from her own embrace, Susie asked,** "So what was his message, sport?"**

Swallowing once, Skid said, **"He told me to say '**_**What does Charles murmur in the background'**_**. An' then to tell ya' he's waitin' at the Dwarrow Fountain."**

Susie gave a slight gasp at the message, the _snick_ of her monofilament whip retracting loud. Glancing over his shoulder at the mage Cole said, **"I assume you know what this kid is talking about?"**

"**Yes, absolutely,"** she replied.

"**Any chance the message could be faked, or a trap?"** Cole asked.

"**Not a chance...I don't believe he could be made to talk,"** Susie said almost without thought.

Cole released Skid who slumped against the wall. The older ork retrieved Skid's knife off the ground, handed it back to him and said, **"Skulking around after folks like that is liable to get you zeroed-out sooner or later. You should pick a safer hobby, Skid."** The younger ork nodded vehemently and dashed out of the alley.

As they walked out of the alley, Susie asked Cole, **"What's the '**_**Dwarrow Fountain**_**' and where is it?"**

Cole motioned to the right and said, **"Back the way we came, about three blocks past the street doc's place."** Susie and Akiko immediately marched off in the indicated direction, forcing Cole to jump to follow. **"Would you mind telling me what this is about, or maybe just who you're going to meet?"** he called after the women.

As Cole caught up to them Susie said, **"It's King."** Seeing the ork's continued confusion, Susie added, **"He's my fixer."**

After traveling a short distance, the elegant outline of the Dwarrow Fountain came into partial view. Clearly of dwarven craftsmanship, it occupied the center of a roundabout. Surrounded by little shops, food stalls, nicer apartments and an open-air market, the tall fountain was a landmark in this part of the Underground. A fair amount of people occupied the roundabout, a cross-section of all the strains of metahumanity. Many not from the Underground shopped for authentic ork or troll items or art. Most of the Underground did a brisk tourist business during the Christmas shopping season. Cole scoped the area, not exactly sure who to look for, but trying to see if anyone seemed to be looking for them. His combat-trained gaze flicked across the roundabout, rediscovering something that was always so painfully obvious in any part of the Underground: anyone could clearly tell the difference between the buildings and decoration made by the dwarves versus the later parts made by his own kind.

Susie stopped short after entering the roundabout. Leaning on Akiko she ascensed the area, slowly moving her head back and forth. After just a few moments the mage opened her two-color eyes and said, **"He's sitting on the opposite side of the fountain."**

Cole didn't know what to expect in a fixer for someone like Mistress Susie, but it certainly wasn't the rather non-descript, older man casually feeding the fish. Flicking his gaze from the Fountain and its myriad population of fish, the man's clean-shaven face smiled at seeing them. He stood to greet them, perhaps a hair over six-feet tall, his wide frame covered with a brown woolen overcoat, and topped off by a wide-brimmed brown leather safari hat. As he stood, he dumped the remainder of whatever he used for feeding the fish into the Fountain, brushing off his hands.

The man who called himself King spread his arms wide and wrapped Susie in a bear hug. **"Susen'ka...I'm glad to see you safe,"** he said.

"_He's Russian," _Cole immediately deduced after hearing King's nickname for Susie. Watching King, he saw the telltale signs that the man possessed a significant amount of cyberware, bodyware in particular.

Releasing Susie, King gave a short bow from the waist to Akiko who returned the gesture saying, **"Greetings again, Looking-Glass King**.

The man held out his right hand to Cole and said, **"Captain, it's good to meet you. Most folks just call me King."**

"_Check on the Russian,"_ Cole thought after hearing King's slightly odd pronunciation of 'captain'. Cole firmly shook the hand, quickly receiving confirmation about his assessment of King's bodyware. **"It's good to meet you too, King. Thanks for the support on the evac the other night,"** the ork said.

Waving away the comment he gave Cole a vague smile and said, **"Not a problem, I was happy to help."** Looking once around the area with an intense stare, King said,** "Let's sit right here on the Fountain." **Gesturing to Etheric Rudder, a small internet cafe in the roundabout, he added,** "I was just sitting here waiting for your decker, Copper Neon, to exit the cafe." **Startled, Cole, Akiko, and Susie moved their heads in unison and stared into the cafe window. Sure enough, Neon sat on a small couch, fingers tapping on her cyberdeck, eyes staring off into cyberspace. Etheric Rudder was close enough to the surface to tap onto a tower above, providing the only decent and reliable Matrix jackpoint in this part of the Underground.

As they sat down on the ledge of the Dwarrow Fountain, Susie asked, **"Okay, your Majesty, what gives with all of the 007? You could have just called me."**

King sighed heavily and said, **"I don't think that would have been wise...or safe. I needed to meet you personally."** Taking a deep breath he continued, **"Susie, how much do you know about a man named Dorian Metzjen?"** Looking confused, Susie glanced at Akiko, who shook her head. King continued, **"I thought so. Dorian Metzjen is a mage that..."**

Susie gasped and said, **"The Johnson's pet mage! I flamed him last night...the one that nearly killed Akiko!"**

King shook his head and said, **"I'm sorry, Suze, but this Dorian is still very much alive."** King withdrew a video chip-reader and an optical chip out of his coat. **"You really need to see this," **he said as he inserted the chip.

The blue-screen twitched into a color view of an office. **"This is my sideline business, Majestic Exports,"** King said. Beyond the office windows a small bit of a warehouse-type building was visible. Abruptly loud yelling blared out from the speaker, causing King to turn down the volume. They saw a figure in silhouette beyond the camera run past and then get cut down by automatic gunfire. The scene exploded in noise as a running gunfight took place, mostly off screen. As the gunfire died down, the door to the office burst open in a flash of reddish-orange fire...and through the doorway strode the Johnson's pet mage. **"Enter: Dorian Metzjen, mage for hire,"** King said. Most of the mage's dirty blonde hair was gone, and his face bore evidence of horrible burns. Gone was the corporate blue suit and ornate walking stick, and in their place he wore a dark grey jumpsuit and boots and carried a machine pistol. A slim woman with a boyish figure in a similar outfit followed him, several jacks glinting on the shaved side of her head. She quickly hooked up a datacable from her head to the desktop while the mage tore through whatever paperwork he could find.

On the screen the woman said, _**"I can't do much with this here: the encryption is too good. Let's just take it with us."**_ The mage grunted in agreement as the woman unhooked her cable and hefted the computer under her arm.

King chuckled evilly and said, **"Watch this."** The woman started to walk through the doorway with the computer under her arm. Just as she crossed the threshold, a loud buzzing noise started, and just as quickly ended with a crackling pop. The woman jerked and thrashed, dropping to the floor, clearly under the influence of some sort of seizure. Dorian the mage rushed to help her as she convulsed and the walls around the doorframe abruptly started smoldering. The woman twitched a few more times, the mage clearly trying to cast some sort of magic on her. **"That was my failsafe,"** King said.** "Once the computer or hard-drive is removed from the desk and passed through the doorway, the 383 kilovolt EMP device built into the wall goes off, completely destroying any electronics within two meters."** He chuckled againand added, **"That little girl on the floor is most likely dead."**

On the screen Dorian called out through the doorway for someone to come and grab the girl. He heaved and pushed her body out past the doorway, laying the computer on her chest. The mage turned back, walked right up to the camera, and began to speak, **"I want you to pass on a message for us, Mr. King. Tell that team of hacks that they have forty-eight hours to get my superior his property. If they succeed, he will release the codes for their payments inside the case. If they refuse, or fail in this task, we will hunt them down and kill them all."** Dorian leaned in close to the camera, his terribly burned face filling the screen and said, **"All except your favorite, Mr. King, that little slut, Susie. Your whore belongs to me, and I intend to make her scream loud and long for what she did to me, to make her beg me for death."** The mage drew in even closer; only his blue eyes visible, **"Do you hear me, bitch? You're mine."** The screen went blank.

King closed his viewer and popped out the chip, handing it to Susie. **"How did you find out his name?"** she asked.

King shrugged and said, **"Face recognition was pretty useless due to the burns and scars, so I called in a few favors to find out who hit Majestic Exports this morning. You know...the usual."**

"**I noticed this mage had scars and burns,"** Akiko said. **"How is that possible?"**

"**Someone with major-league magic healed him,"** Susie replied. Not meeting King's eyes she asked, **"How many of your people died?"**

King sighed and said, **"Uh, none of my people actually. They bugged out like they should have and hit the PANIC Button for Lone Star. The casualty in the video was a prospective customer and he survived. None of theirs that I could tell, except the decker caught in the EMP." **Susie nodded.

King abruptly heaved to his feet. Susie quickly looked up at him and said, **"You're leaving?"**

"**Yes, my dear. I told you the other night: I'm supposed to be out of town until the fourth of January,"** King replied. **"I'm expected in Chiba for some serious biz."**

"**Uh, yeah, sure. Of course,"** Susie said. **"It's probably a good idea if you lay low for a bit outta town until this all shakes out."**

Cole saw a grimace dance across King's face. Fishing inside his pocket once again King pulled out another optical chop and set it and his viewer on the Fountain ledge next to the mage. Gesturing at the chip and viewer he said, **"That's the last little bit of info I have on this thing. My people made sure it's now the only copy, so use it if you can."** He extended a hand toward Susie's shoulder, and then quickly withdrew it. ** "I'm sorry, Suze: I have to go."**

"**Be safe, Ivan,"** Susie quietly said to King.

At that moment, Neon appeared in the doorway of Etheric Rudder. With a start she recognized Susie, Akiko, and Cole sitting less than fifteen meters away, Susie clearly saying goodbye to a tall, well-built, older man. Neon slung her cyberdeck case over her shoulder and walked toward them, a smile on her face. **"Well hi, guys! Did you come over just to meet me?"** she said once reaching the Fountain. Neon gave King's broad back an appraising look as he walked away into the crowd. **"My, my, Susie,"** she asked in a breathy voice, fanning herself with her hand. **"Who was that healthy looking **_**man**_** you were talking to?"**

"**Just an old friend,"** the mage said a bit absently.

Cole grabbed the new chip and viewer and said, **"Neon, we need to look at this."**

Bobbing her head back to Etheric Rudder she said, **"Let's grab a table inside and check it out."**

At the table in the cafe, Neon clucked her tongue as Cole opened the small viewer, instead opening her cyberdeck and slotting the chip. A video started, partially showing the docks in Queen Anne from yesterday. Judging by the fires and amount of wreckage it must have been right after they vacated the area. Just in the edge of the screen the two Knight Errant guards lay on the ground, right next to their burning Chrysler Jackrabbit. Looking at the angle of the video, it was clear most of their gunfight would have been out of the camera's view.

A young man walked into the scene: wild hair standing out in dirty spikes, ripped up ankle-length coat covered in pins, buttons, and small chains, his eyes covered in some sort of yellow colored goggles. As he walked toward the Knight Errant guards he displayed the twitchy movements and habitual tics of a tweaker. The man seemed to be talking to himself. Upon reaching the first human guard, the tweaker produced a very short double-barreled shotgun, placed it against the helmet faceplate and pulled one trigger. Everyone watching the video (except Akiko) winced as the lower part of the guard's helmet veritably exploded and the remains of his head and face splattered across the door of the Chrysler. The tweaker pocketed the man's sidearm, walked over to the ork guard and repeated his actions, grabbing up the ork's Mossberg as well. Vigorously yet absently scratching the side of his neck, the tweaker danced around the flaming vehicles and climbed into the cab of the truck. He started it up and drove through the flames, briefly setting all four tires alight, and clipping the front end of the Knight Errant Jackrabbit, knocking the smaller vehicle askew. Stopping the flatbed just below the camera, the young man flipped the camera the bird, and then blasted it with both barrels, ending the video.

Neon ejected the chip and offered it to Cole. He waved it away and said, **"Neon, we have another video for you to watch, and a name to check out: Dorian Metzjen."** Neon silently nodded as Susie passed her the other chip. **"We're going back to The Pear. When you're finished, or dinnertime rolls around, come on back and meet us there."** Neon nodded silently again and moved back to the short couch she previously vacated minutes ago.

Back at The Pear, the trio discovered that Zig, Zag, and Kill Switch had left together earlier, despite Granny Maria's suggestion to wait for Cole to return. In the end she sent one of her own people to escort them around, and to make sure they didn't get into (or start) any trouble. In reality her concern was primarily for the dwarf: the ongoing racial conflict between most orks and dwarves oftentimes led to violence.

Cole sat down in a huff in Akiko and Susie's borrowed room. **"I don't even know how the hell we're supposed to find the thing, now,"** he said. Rubbing his chin, the ork narrowed his eyes at Susie and asked, **"Is there any chance you could do some kind of...I don't know...astral-thing and find it?"**

Susie thought for a moment and said, **"Probably. I would need to fully project, and start out from the ocean. I **_**should**_** be able to find the power trail and follow it back to the sarcophagus."**

"**Can you project from here?"** he asked.

Closing her eyes, the mage slowly moved her head back and forth, sampling the astral terrain. Forcefully blowing a breath loudly past her lips, Susie opened her eyes and said, **"Yes, I can. But it will be harder from here. There's a whole lot of living things between me and the city above: moss, bugs, mold. Anything living blocks astral travel completely."** She gave a slight shiver and added, **"Plus there's a fair amount of...psychic background count down here. This community as a whole is in a relatively small space, and most aren't terribly happy." **Cole grunted, and then they sat in silence.

Abruptly intruding into the silence, all three shadowrunners heard a light, irregular thumping noise. Glancing around the closed room they couldn't see a source of the noise. Accompanied by a girlish giggling, the thumping noise grew in volume. Susie rolled her eyes and sighed. **"I can find it for you, Susie," **the still invisible Piru said.** "All you have to do is ask."** Hovering over the chair in the corner, two points of light appeared, one a deep indigo blue and the other a brilliant emerald green. Slowly, Piru's little-girl form faded into sight, the points of light becoming her eyes. Twisting a curl of dark hair around its fingers as it kicked its feet against the chair rungs, the spirit said, **"Are you asking me to find that marvelous box for you?" **

Susie glanced at her companions and said, **"Cole...Akiko...could you give us a few minutes alone?"** Cole heaved up to his feet and left the room. Akiko was slower to move, pausing next to Susie on her way to the door. Susie gave her friend a tired smile and nodded. Akiko stopped once again in the doorway and turned back. **"We'll be out in a few minutes, my **_**Nee-chan**_**,"** Susie said, giving the Asian woman a little wave.

Once the door closed, Susie turned on Piru and growled, **"Where in the hell have you been?"**

A ghost of a smile appeared on the spirit's face as it said, **"I've been...around."**

"**Do you have any idea what's been going on since you unpacked that sarcophagus?"** she asked. The spirit gave the mage a sweet smile but remained silent. **"I needed your help on the astral," **Susie said. **"I called to you but you didn't come."**

All pretense of playfulness dropped off Piru's face. **"I am not one of your slaves, Tabitha. I come when I want, and leave when I want. You seem to forget that I am not like your Charles, or Tony, or Cerise, or Jena, or Raymond, or any of your other playthings."**

"**I've been unconscious twice since our conversation about the crate,"** Susie stated.

The spirit shrugged and replied, **"Nothing new there. You never know when to quit, Tabby-cat, even for your own good."**

Frustrated, Susie realized that angle of persuasion would not work. Piru knew her too well, and actually seemed to prefer when she was running ragged. Trying a different tack the mage said, **"Akiko nearly died." **That hit home, and Piru's smile faltered a bit. For whatever reason, the spirit seemed to genuinely like Akiko. Softening her voice some, Susie said, **"I really needed your help."**

Piru clucked its tongue and said, **"Well, too bad because I'm not your servant."**

Straining to contain her growing anger, Susie quietly said, **"I could change that situation."**

Piru snorted. The spirit's smile grew wider as it said, **"Oh, **_**really.**_**"** Giving the mage an obvious look up and down Piru said,** "You look pretty worn out, Tabby-Cat. Do you think you can **_**destroy**_** me?"**

"**I don't have to destroy you, Piru,"** Susie grasped the hilt of her magesword, mentally activating its power.** "Yes...I am tired, but not so tired that I couldn't **_**disrupt**_** you."** Shrugging she added,** "and even if I knock myself out again...I'll recover long before you can reappear."**

"**And so what?"** Piru said offhandedly. **"Assuming you win that contest, once I coalesce again, it won't matter."**

"**What makes you think I'll be inactive during that time?"** Susie asked.

Piru's smile vanished as the meaning of the question became apparent. The lambent glow of the spirit's eyes flashed brighter, flickering with a barely controlled fire. In a guttural voice, so unlike the normal little girl, Piru said, **"You would **_**dare**_** try to discover my true name?"**

Susie realized she had to be careful here. Any free spirit, whether born that way or released from bondage, could be forced into servitude by a mage that knew its true name. To discover a true name required the mage to undertake an astral quest to the plane of the spirit's origin. If the origin was unknown to the mage, each plane had to be quested until the proper one discovered. In all of the time she and Piru had spent together, Susie felt confident enough to narrow it down to just a couple of choices. **"If it meant preventing Akiko's death...then I would do anything. You should know that by now."**

"**I am free. I...will...not...be...yours...to command,"** Piru growled, the spirit's voice now utterly devoid of any trace of humanity.

Sighing in exasperation Susie shook her head and said, **"You just don't get it: I don't **_**want**_** to command you. I just want you to be more of an ally. If you had been around more, that spirit probably wouldn't have wrecked the truck. Someone actually **_**trying**_** to be helpful wouldn't have opened up that damn crate, or left me alone against those air elementals...and maybe you could have made it so I could have protected Akiko from the spell that nearly killed her."**

The spirit crossed its arms, thinking over what Susie said. After a long minute of introspection, Piru finally asked, **"So, Tabitha...if I help you when you need it, what's in it for me?"**

"**You mean besides you not being returned to servitude?"** Susie replied.

Piru chuckled, an icy polytonal sound. **"**_**Hmm**_**, I think we both know how that would end: me most likely destroyed and you dead."** Giving the mage a sardonic smile the spirit said, **"Can't you offer me something a little sweeter?" **

Caught slightly off-guard Susie said, **"Uh...I don't know, like what? What do you want? I already share some of my spirit energy with you from time-to-time."** Thinking for a moment the mage added, **"I'm sure I can convince one or two of the others to share some as well."**

"**Oh, I think you know what **_**else**_** I like,"** the spirit purred.

Suddenly much of Piru's behavior and actions clicked together: the constant trouble making, creating problems, wanting to be around the activities in The Lair. Piru was somehow gaining something from the turmoil it caused and witnessed...perhaps even feeding off of it. Susie had never really connected the dots until this very instant.

Realization must have dawned on her face as Piru chuckled again and said,** "I think she gets it now."**

"**You want the conflict...the strife...is that it?"** Susie quietly asked. **"Is that what else you want?"**

A look of undisguised desire, almost hunger, came over Piru's face. The spirit's deep, polytonal voice sounded like many voices as it hissed, **"Yes."**

"**The anguish, and the pain too?** she asked.

Piru's mouth stretched into a fiendish smile. **"Oh, yes,"** the spirit replied.

"**Do you want the violence, and the bloodshed that goes along with it?"** Susie whispered intently.

The blue and green fires of its eyes rolling back into its head, the little-girl form of the spirit shuddering in ecstasy, the Mary Jane shoes drummed briefly on the floor. With a deep, rapturous, otherworldly groan Piru's resonating voice hissed out, **"Yessss!" ** The spirit drew a ragged breath and croaked out, **"**_**THAT**_** is what I want, Tabitha!"**

Susie leaned forward in her chair and said, **"Then come with us and **_**help**_** me and I'll make sure you get plenty of all of it. We are going to war with this Johnson and his pet mage, and I fully intend to make what happened at the docks look like a schoolyard scuffle."**

Piru sat back up, the fires gone from its eyes, the demonic resonance gone from its voice. **"Do you promise?"**

Nodding, Susie said, **"I promise, Piru. Stick around a lot more, and do as I ask, and I'll do my best to give you what you want**_**. 'Do as I bid, and if thou hunger still when all is done, then I will give thee whatsoever thy lust may demand. Yea with both hands...'**_**" **

Suddenly all business, Piru asked, **"So you need me to find the sarcophagus for you?"**

"**Yes, Piru, "** Susie said as she smiled. "**That is **_**exactly**_** what we need right now."**

After dispatching Piru to find the sarcophagus, Susie crossed over to the men's assigned room. Inside, Cole, Akiko, the twins, and Kill Switch sat at ease. The dwarf looked up as she entered the room and said, **"You look like drek, girlie. Didn'tcha grab enough beauty sleep?"**

Susie didn't bother to respond to the jibe. Realizing the twins and Kill Switch were far too relaxed to know the whole story, Susie kept her mouth shut, waiting to follow whatever lead Cole and Akiko provided. **"Whutzappening?"** she asked.

Cole cleared his throat as he stood and said, **"We were just waiting on you to be finished with Piru before heading out to get Neon." **

Susie nodded and said, **"Let's go."**

Halfway down the stairs Katy, the tween ork in the kitchen last night, stopped them and said, **"Captain, Granny says to tell you your ladyfriend is out back with some dinner for you all. I'm supposed to take you out to her." **Kill Switch snickered at the girl referring to Neon as Cole's 'ladyfriend'.

Cole nodded and Katy led them down the stairs and through a door on the stairs into the kitchen. Latin music once again played from the dining room. Maria did not seem to be in the kitchen, but several of the cooks and prep staff waved and yelled their greetings. As always during dinner, the kitchen was a scene of steaming, noisy, controlled chaos. One of the cooks handed Cole a large pot of savory black bean soup and said, **"Heres ya' go, Captain. Deres bowls and stuff out back witch-yer ladyfriend."** The dwarf snickered again and opened up his mouth to say something, only to have Susie _thwap_ him across the shoulders. Katy scooped up a large plateful of tortillas and led them out a side door.

Outside they found Neon, but not how they intended. Five burly orks, all of them wearing sidearms, surrounded Neon and had her backed into the corner of the walled alfresco area. Four stood by silently as the center one growled at her, **"I'm only gonna ask youse one more time, chica, an' don't gimme none of that '**_**We're jus' hidin' out'**_** shite: what the hell is Cole doin' down here?!"**

Cole immediately passed off the pot of soup to Zig and quietly said, **"Katy, go find Granny right now."** Katy handed her tortillas to Kill Switch and ran off into the restaurant. **"You can just ask me that, Elam,"** Cole said loudly.

Elam's head snapped around, even as his four compatriots spun to face Cole, hands dropping to their various pistols. Cole held his own hands up and out to show he was unarmed. Elam hissed and motioned to his orks, all four bringing up empty hands as well. Susie gave a 'come hither' motion with her hand and said to Neon, **"C'mon out of there, sweetie."** Neon eased out from behind Elam and his crew and quickly dashed across to her own team, her cyberdeck clutched protectively over her ample chest.

"**Alrighty, I'll ask you: what're you doin' back here again, Cole?"** Elam asked in a harsh voice. Before Cole could answer Elam continued, **"Lessee...what was it ya' said last time...you're here to open up a shop...no that ain't it." **Elam rubbed his chin and gave an impression of thinking hard. **"Oh wait, maybe you're here again to get back to your roots,"** Elam sneered. **"Nah that ain't it, you was born **_**Topside**_**."** The contempt Elam used for the word 'Topside' drew a nasty chuckle from the other four orks. **"Now I got it,"** Elam said, snapping his thick fingers**. "You're back here for the same reason you was here the first time...just to fuck things up for me and my people." **

Cole thought back to his first time here: unlike now, he hadn't needed sanctuary. Back then he was indirectly working for a Seattle orkish group that tried to foster greater integration of orks and trolls into mainstream society. Cole's fixer at the time hired him to infiltrate the community and track down members of the quasi-terrorist group the Sons of Sauron. Attempting to keep his cover as close to reality as possible, Cole posed as a former soldier with a nest egg of cash wanting to settle down in Granny Maria's community. Using his natural leadership skills, and the 'nest-egg' money provided by his employer, Cole tried to organize some of the other leaders and populace to ostensibly bring about change for his people and their plight. This put him into direct contact with many of the Sons of Sauron members operating in this part of the Underground.

Maria eventually deduced what he was doing, and despite his fabrication, partnered with Cole and used her influence to help him root out the violent radicals and discover who were sympathizers. In the end, Cole's mission was a resounding success: the Sons were outed, and on suggestions by the Seattle group the Federal authorities rounded them up with little heavy-handedness to the community. Cole, known as the Captain, gained some small local fame as a bit of a hero. By Cole's design, Granny Maria got the lion's share of the credit for the culling of the Sons, and a grateful populace essentially made her the defacto matriarch of this part of the Underground. Most of the denizens saw the Sons of Sauron as little better than thugs and killers.

Unfortunately it did not turn out quite so well for her grandson, Elam. Unwittingly, some of his closest people were members (or sympathizers) of the Sons. Although the Federal authorities did no more than question him, many wondered if Elam assisted the Sons, despite the lack of hard proof. But the fact and innuendo tarnished his reputation in the community, his relation to Maria notwithstanding. Most of his detractors believed his culpability, mainly because Elam wasn't the brightest, and often acted pridefully thuggish himself. Elam's poor judgment in selecting friends and associates, drove the tip of the wedge between Granny Maria and himself, and forced Maria to seriously question making him her eventual successor. All of these troubles, Elam laid to rest at the feet of Cole. And while his fall from grace made him sullen and quick to anger with Cole, his hatred grew out of the love and respect Maria bore for Cole, something Elam felt he alone should have.

"**Look, Elam,"** Cole said,** "I'm not here to screw anything up. We're really only here for a few more hours, and then we'll be gone."**

Crossing his arms, Elam looked over Cole and his companions. **"Why ain't I suprized to see you keepin' company wit a buncha smoothies and a Godamned halfer,"** he said contemptuously. Flicking a quick glance at his own followers Elam added, **"Whatsamatter, **_**Captain**_**? Idn't your own folks good enough for ya'?"** Snorting in disgust and shaking his head he said, **"Three little girls, a pair-uh pretty-boy fags, and a halfer. Now them sluts I get, and my hat's off fer nailin' three of 'em at once, but c'mon brother, what's wit them others?"**

One of Elam's friends chuckled and said, **"Mebee it's da boys he likes."** That comment set the other three to laughing.

Cole shook his head sadly; hoping the rest of the team would take their lead from him. Refusing to rise to the jibe he said, **"Whatever. Like I said: in a few hours we're out of your hair."**

"**Well, such as it is,"** Kill Switch piped up.

Elam bristled, his receding hairline a sore point for his ego. _"How the hell did Kill Switch know that?"_Cole thought, but surmised the dwarf either had the luck of fools, drunks, and babies, or more likely figured anyone with such an obvious comb-over was self-conscious about their hair_**.**_ The other laughing orks went silent as Elam growled, **"You ain't got no place here anymore, halfer...and fer that, I'm gonna rip off your tiny head, and shit down your neck."**

In his peripheral vision, Cole saw Zig set down the soup pot, he and Zag spreading out, even as Neon faded further back behind the group. Elam and his friends also spread out as Susie stepped up next to Cole, that damnable hungry grin on her face. In his most commanding battlefield voice Cole said, **"Stop! Elam: it doesn't need to go this way!"**

Elam actually licked his protruding lower teeth and said, **"I've been waitin' fer this fer a long time."**

Abruptly Granny Maria appeared from inside the kitchen. Seeing the imminent violence at hand she yelled,** "ELAM! **_**Nieto**_**, stop this at once!"** Elam's comrades pulled up short at Maria's shout, looking guilty. Elam took a moment longer but also backed off. **"You boys go on home, these folks and Cole are my guests,"** Maria said, waving at them. The four shuffled out to the street, looking a bit like scolded schoolboys. Elam stayed behind, keeping a tight hold on his rage and embarrassment.

In a softer tone of voice Maria said, **"**_**Mi nieto**_**, go on home too. This is between Cole and I. It doesn't concern you."**

Elam clenched his fists, actually quivering as he tried to maintain control. In a quiet voice full of pain and fury he said, **"Well, it's good ta' see nothin' changes around here. Takin' Cole's side like always." ** He bobbed his head to Maria and said, **"**_**Abuela,**_** I'll see ya' tomorrow."** Giving Cole a sideways look he added, **"An' ya' better hope I don't see **_**you**_** tomorrow."** Without a backward glance he stalked out into the street.

With Elam's departure, the tension released with an almost audible snap. Letting out a pent-up breath, Cole turned to Maria and said, **"Maria, I'm sorry. He was out here..."**

Maria cut him off with a chop of her hand, her mouth compressed into a tight joyless line. **"I don't want to talk about it. Just sit and eat."** Cole resignedly nodded, moving to one of the tables to sit down. Most of the team silently followed suit and started ladling out portions of the black bean soup.

Susie stood where she was and watched Maria, an appraising look and sly smile on her face. **"You should keep your men on a tighter leash,"** Susie said to her**. "I could teach you how."**

Maria turned on the mage. **"I don't need your opinion, **_**muija encantadora,**_**"** she spat.** "The sooner you are gone from here, the better."** Susie shrugged and moved to the table, the smile never leaving her face. Granny Maria tightly closed her eyes for a moment, pressing out unshed tears. Cole started to get up from the table but she waved him away, and strode back into the kitchen.


End file.
